He said if an end of the roster player was caught sleeping in meetings, he'd cut them to make an example. If Troy Aikman was sleeping, he'd get him a pillow
Yes, he cut Roper, and while that's a different standard for sure, it's hardly what you'd call "special treatment" to not cut someone. I saw the original interview back in the '90s, he said he would have said "Troy... Wake Up!" if Aikman was sleeping.
That's nothing at all like letting your best players take days off practice because they are sore.
Aikman grew more and more pissed off with Switzer because he wouldn't do a damned thing when Irvin came in wasted and dragging. If Irvin showed up hungover for practice and started lounging around, you know Jimmy would have ran him like a dog until he puked, and Irvin would have done it too. Instead under Switzer, more and more players started coming in hungover or late because Irvin did. Aikman was furious.
When it came to practice, Jimmy demanded his best players grind at a high level. He'd even make some of his best players practice and play special teams because he thought it gave him an edge.