FILE – Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) scores a field goal during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, file)Source: Publication
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Brandon Aubrey was almost sure he was the kicker for the Dallas Cowboys was going to remove him from jury duty.
It’s safe to say he was surprised to end up sitting in a domestic violence case that lasted a week and ended with his jury sentencing the defendant to 65 years in prison.
“Hearing this story is eye-opening, time-consuming, frustrating, depressing,” Aubrey said Thursday in an interview conducted by a member of the Cowboys media relations staff. “The story was sad. I don’t really want to go into all the details of the story, but it was very depressing and lasted longer than I expected. So, glad it’s over.
Aubrey was not in the Dallas locker room during the team’s media availability Thursday. A team staff member emailed a transcript of the interview with the kicker to the media later in the day.
A year ago, Aubrey set an NFL record as a 28-year-old rookie by making the first 35 field goals of his career. A record streak of eight consecutive games with at least one field goal of 50 yards or more ended last weekend in a 30-24 loss to San Francisco. THE The Cowboys (3-4) visit Atlanta (5-3) Sunday.
With Aubrey’s anonymity likely compromised by that kind of rocky start to his career, he said the judge told everyone during jury selection who he was.
Aubrey said he has a sister-in-law who is a prosecutor and she assured him his fame would disqualify him.
Aubrey, who had deferred his summons to the jury once but was not allowed to do so again, also believed he had an appropriate conflict to present to the judge – being at the team facility preparing for the match last weekend in San Francisco.
The judge recognized him by name and said he might get back to him on the conflict issue, Aubrey said. Next thing the kicker knows, the judge says Aubrey won’t have any conflicts because court won’t be in session this weekend.
“I could have been more assertive and at that point everyone knows who I am there, and I don’t want to give the impression that I think I’m better than anyone else or that I’m above the job,” Aubrey said. “So I just sat there quietly and didn’t say anything, which was probably a mistake. I thought that even then, he wouldn’t choose me.
As it turned out, Aubrey had to scramble to get into his kicker job during the week. He only arrived at the facility around sunset on Thursday last week, first fighting the sunset and kicking in the dark for a while with long snapper Trent Sieg and his holder , punter Bryan Anger.
Aubrey couldn’t play in the comfort – and under the lights – of the team’s indoor practice facility because of a high school game.
“You can’t really see where you’re hitting, and for Bryan in particular, who was trying to catch the snaps, he had a hard time at first tracking the ball and hitting the spot,” Aubrey said. “So it was a lot harder, but I just wanted to get the leg moving and keep the body fresh for game day.”
Aubrey wasn’t really tested against the 49ers, making his only field goal attempt from 29 yards and all three extra points.
A former Major League Soccer prospect who played the sport at a Dallas-area high school and at Notre Dame, Aubrey got a chance with the Cowboys last year after scouting him in the USFL.
When trying to get the attention of professional teams, Aubrey would quit his day job and head straight to the local fields so he could kick. Jury duty made him relive the experience.
“It reminded me a lot of my schedule as a software engineer when I worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., then I would go running in this area, a local field not too far away, and I would also try to wrestle against the sunset,” Aubrey said. “It’s something I’ve done before.”
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