Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey reflects on jury duty
In the week leading up to the Dallas Cowboys' Oct. 27 game against the San Francisco 49ers, one notable Cowboy was absent from practice.
Kicker Brandon Aubrey was missing from the Cowboys' practice facility because he was in Fort Worth serving on a jury.
Aubrey sat down with podcast, "The Dumb Zone," to talk about the experience.
The kicker said he got a summons during training camp and was allowed to push it back for 90 days, but when he was summoned again, he couldn't push it back.
Aubrey's sister-in-law is a prosecutor in Dallas. She told him there was no way he'd be picked because he is a public figure and has family in the legal profession.
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Brandon Aubrey #17 of the Dallas Cowboys kicks a field goal during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levis Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson
He wasn't willing to take any chances though.
"I told them my show is ‘Dateline,’" Aubrey said. "I told them cops are way more believable than your average person in testimony."
Aubrey told the show he didn't believe he'd be picked and sat quietly during the process.
"I never thought it was going to happen," Aubrey said. "I just sat there. They mentioned quiet people in jury selection end up being jurors."
Despite all the factors in his favor, Aubrey was selected for the jury.
"I called the Cowboys and let them know, ‘hey, they picked me,'" he said.
Aubrey said he tried telling the judge he had conflicts that wouldn't allow him to serve on the jury and was told the court wasn't in session on weekends and he'd have no problem going to San Francisco.
As for practice, Aubrey said he kicked with the team's special teams coordinator that Wednesday and with punter Bryan Anger and long snapper Trent Sieg on Thursday.
There was just one problem: it took Aubrey 1.5 hours to get from downtown Fort Worth to the team's Frisco practice facility.
Aubrey said it was around 6:30 p.m. when he would get to the facility on those days and they were unable to use the indoor portion on Thursday so he was kicking in the dark.
He said coach Mike McCarthy welcomed him back during the team meeting.
Aubrey went 1/1 with a 29-yard field goal and 3/3 on extra points on the night.
The 49ers beat the Cowboys 30-24.