Romo turns to Jewish CC for competition

Published Jul. 16, 2012 10:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

It's no secret that Tony Romo enjoys playing basketball in the Dallas Cowboys' offseason, as evidenced by Twitter photos of the quarterback playing in pickup games.

One of his hoop spots was disclosed Monday, when TabletMag.com posted a story that Romo's search for a competitive league took him to the Jewish Community Center of Dallas.

"He's extremely physical," David Naxon, one of Romo's recent opponents, told TabletMag.com. "He'll push you around. He's not going to hold back just because you're a young Jewish man."

TabletMag.com talked with multiple players who have faced Romo on the hardwood.

"I think he's jealous that he never had a bar mitzvah so he is taking it out by kicking the Jews' butts on the court," Itzy Ribald said.

Ribald added: "He's shockingly good from what you would expect from a football player. He's probably one of the best shooters to play at the JCC."

He's also quite the risk-taker, considering he could easily suffer a common basketball injury to an ankle or knee. Romo detractors would have a field day if he were forced to miss any football time because of a freak injury.

"At first, I thought I don't want to injure him because I'm a big Cowboys fan, and I would be devastated if he got injured," Naxon said. "But when I saw that he wasn't holding back, I decided not to, either."

So what type of player is Romo?

Ribald described Romo to TabletMag.com as a physical point guard, then gave the QB some the highest praise a basketball player can receive.

"He has given the J's league a spark," Ribald said. "He's turned a typical, semi-competitive league into an extremely competitive, fun, championship-type tournament. You feel like you're going to play against Jordan, a superstar."

Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota