FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Brandon Aubrey was pretty sure being the kicker for the Dallas Cowboys was going to get him out of jury duty.
It's safe to say he was surprised to end up serving on a domestic violence case that lasted a week and ended with his jury sentencing the defendant to 65 years in prison.
“Eye-opening, long, frustrating, depressing, hearing the story,” Aubrey said Thursday in an interview conducted by a member of the Cowboys' media relations staff. “The story was a sad one. I don’t really want to get into all the details of the story, but it was very depressing and dragged on longer than anybody expected it to. So, glad it’s over.”
Aubrey wasn't in the Dallas locker room during the team's media availability on Thursday. A team staffer 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 kicks of his career. A record streak of eight consecutive games with at least one field goal of 50 yards or longer ended last weekend in a 30-24 loss to San Francisco. The Cowboys (3-4) visit Atlanta (5-3) on Sunday.
With Aubrey's anonymity likely blown by that kind of eventful 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 had assured him his celebrity would disqualify him.
Aubrey, who had postponed his jury summons once but wasn't allowed to do it again, also thought he had a suitable conflict to present to the judge — being at the team's facility to prepare for last weekend's game in San Francisco.
The judge acknowledged him by name and said he could come back to him on the issue of conflicts, Aubrey said. The next thing the kicker knows, the judge is saying Aubrey won't have any conflicts because the court won't be in session over the weekend.
“I could have been more assertive and at that point, everyone knows who I am there, and I don’t want to sound like I think I’m better than anyone else or that I’m above the job,” Aubrey said. “So kind of sat there quietly and didn’t say anything, which was probably a mistake. I figured at that point still, he’s not going to pick me.”
As it turned out, Aubrey had to scramble to get in his kicking work during the week. He didn't get to the facility until close to sundown Thursday of last week, first fighting the sunset and actually kicking in the dark for a spell with long snapper Trent Sieg and his holder, punter Bryan Anger.
Aubrey couldn't kick 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 kicking, and for Bryan in particular, 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 really 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 that sport at a Dallas-area high school and Notre Dame, Aubrey got a shot with the Cowboys last year after they scouted him in the USFL.
When he was trying to get the attention of pro teams, Aubrey would leave his day job and go straight to local fields so he could kick. Jury duty had him reliving the experience.
“It reminded me a lot of my schedule as a software engineer when I’d work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then go race down to this area, a local field not too far away, and try to fight the sunset as well,” Aubrey said. “It’s something I’ve done before.”
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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
