Dallas Cowboys from WFAA Sports
Text messages reveal doubts about strength of Cowboys canopy 
01:16 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2009
IRVING -- A series of text messages after the Dallas Cowboys practice facility collapsed reveal concerns about the structure's quality and suggest the team "pushes" things through.
Using the state's Open Records law, The Dallas Morning News obtained the Blackberry-to-Blackberry messages Irving officials sent each other.
The Cowboys tentlike practice facility collapsed on May 2, paralyzing scouting assistant Rich Behm and injuring 11 others.
In one message, Irving City Manager Tommy Gonzalez indicated the facility was probably not strong enough to sustain itself against straight-line winds.
"A big ole tent... probably never was structurally sound enough," he said.
Another message from Gonzalez referenced how the "big D org pushes things thru."
Neither Cowboys owner Jerry Jones nor a team spokesman would comment to the newspaper.
Some in Irving have always thought the Cowboys get preferential treatment.
The City of Irving has been criticized by the state for not keeping critical blueprints and building specs that might have shed light on the ongoing investigation into the collapse.
The City of Irving disagrees with those findings.
As for whether the Cowboys do get preferential treatment, the Irving city manager did tell the Dallas Morning News that he does not believe that to be the case. He said he used the word "pushes," as he would refer to any organizing, pushing to get its mission accomplished with the City of Irving.
Associated Press and Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.
