OXNARD, Calif. – it was a solemn yet inspirational way to open an NFL training camp. Dallas Police Chief David Brown and Mayor Mike Rawlings walked arm-in-arm with the Dallas Cowboys onto the field for the team’s first training camp practice in Oxnard as a way of paying tribute to the family members of the officers killed in the July shootings in 
Dallas.
Many family members also walked to the center of the field where Brown – the Dallas native – offered a powerful powerful presentation about athletes ability to speak out and motivate societal change.
Said Brown: “Don’t be silent. Let your voice be heard. All communities need your voices.”
The Cowboys are also paying tribute to the Dallas Police by wearing decal stickers on the back of their helmets that read “Arm and Arm.” The team petitioned the NFL to allow them to wear the star-logo decals during the regular season. The league has decided to not grant that permission, with Cowboys COO Stephen Jones expressing an understanding of the opening of “Pandora’s Box” for even the most worthy of causes.
The Cowboys do plan on being involved in the Arm-in-Arm cause beyond the decals and the Saturday ceremony, which was the brainchild of veteran tight and Jason Witten and the Jones family. The special thing about our game,” Witten said, “is that it can bring a community together.”
