An anonymous letter posted by a member of the Dallas Cowboys in the team’s locker room is raising questions about homophobia in the sports world yet again. This time a letter attacking a writer for the Dallas Morning News, Jean-Jacques Taylor, who had written critical articles about the team’s performance this season, calls into question Taylor’s sexual orientation and his activities in the locker room.

The Dallas Observer obtained a copy of the unsigned letter that was posted in the team’s Valley Ranch locker room during the media hours just a few days before the Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 49-21 on Nov. 15.

John Gonzalez, the Observer writer who broke the story, said he “obtained a copy of the letter from a kind DMN [Dallas Morning News] scribe who, incidentally, doesn’t write about football. We’re not positive whether the spelling and grammatical errors are the result of the players’ lack of intelligence or our source’s lack of typing skills. Either way, here’s the letter, word for word and completely unchanged since it made its way to us”:

“Dear readers, Jacques has wrote some things about alot of the players on the Dallas Cowboys football team that wasn’t cool. But be he knows what goes on in the locker room (cock watcher) but he really doesn’t know much. If he knew as much about football as he does a bout (performing in a certain way on the manly seed) then maybe you could listen to his B.S. opinion. Maybe he should take a look in the mirro and criticize himself before others. Maybe he should stop eating McDonald’s and spend a little more time with Jared from Subway. We don’t judge you bitch, you’re not all that yourself. Instead of asking the players on theis team and making us look bad to our fans. What fuckin’ team are you watching? Get a life ‘C.’ You are a fraud. You ask for phone numbers then turn on us when things aren’t going so good. You are a fake person. Sometimes you’re cool and sometimes you are a (homosexual F). Good luck never becoming a columnist.”

Despite the recent media attention, the player or players who are responsible for the letter have not stepped forward. However the Observer article did say that many fingers point to Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

“The same day Taylor’s story ran, a copy of it was pinned up in Williams’ locker, which is why everyone I talked to in the [Dallas-Fort Worth] sports media thinks that Williams was the author of the unsigned note,” Gonzales wrote in an opinion piece for the Observer. “That’s the hunch here, too. Williams denied it to NBC 5 sports anchorman Newy Scruggs. ‘Right before we went on the air after it happened,’ Scruggs says, ‘he told me that he only wrote the ‘dear reader’ part and that some of the other guys filled in the rest.’”

The Cowboys organization response, via public relations head Rich Dalrymple, was, “It’s something we don’t condone as an organization and it’s been handled internally.” No specifics were given.

“The letter’s focus on homophobic slurs to attack Taylor is sad and offensive and shows again how backwards sports are in dealing with the issue. Calling someone a fag is still the ultimate put-down in most locker rooms,” said Jim Brezinski, a columnist for the gay sports website, Outsports. “The Cowboys who authored the letter also showed what cowards they are; why be afraid of a mere sportswriter, especially someone you perceive as gay, and therefore less of a man?

“Gonzalez’s article is terrific and I hope it will lead to more coverage of this issue; shining a spotlight on such actions is one way to combat them,” said Brezinski.

Taylor told the Observer that he wasn’t fazed by the letter. “It didn’t really bother me,” Taylor said. “If you’re gonna make a living criticizing people, you gotta be able to take it when they come back at you. That’s the price of doing business. The only problem I had was that when I write something, I put my name on it. If you want to speak up and say something about me, at least be man enough to put your name on it.

“I don’t know who wrote it for sure, but if you connect the dots, you could probably figure it out,” said Taylor.

The article written by Taylor that prompted the attack broke down player salaries and whether the Cowboys were getting their money’s worth out of players based on their performance. In the article Taylor mentioned Williams, saying, “You can blame the [defensive] scheme, in part, but you can also count his big plays on one hand.”

The Cowboys were expected to contend for a division title this year, but those hopes seem all but gone now with their 4-7 record for the season. In his first two seasons combined, Williams had seven interceptions, five forced fumbles and four sacks, but has had zero of any in the 11 games so far this season.