Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross yesterday said while the team does not encourage players to kneel during the National Anthem, "I understand it and I totally accept it." Ross, appearing on CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” said it "starts a conversation that needs to be had and ... because I've spoken to all of the players, they’re as patriotic and believe in this country as much as anybody that there is." Ross said the four Dolphins players who knelt prior to Sunday's game against the Seahawks were "making a statement and starting a conversation that no one wants to talk about, and from that, I respect it and I encourage it.” He added, "This is a conversation I think that shouldn't get kindled. The fact of the matter is we have to really address it." Ross: "A lot of people are speaking up and I think they realize that they can create change and they want to see change and I think that is a very important conversation that needs to take place. So therefore I've encouraged them to do what they feel they should be doing because I know that none of it is in disrespect of this country, the military or anybody else." CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen then asked, "Let me make sure I'm understanding what you're saying here. You’ve encouraged them to do what they feel their conscience dictates that they do, but you would prefer they not?” Ross: “The organization, we all encourage everybody to stand up and really show your respect for the country in that. ... They are kneeling, some with their hand over their heart. It is their way of showing that something needs to be changed, and there should be a conversation that should take place. You certainly shouldn't discourage that” (“Power Lunch,” CNBC, 9/14). Meanwhile, The Palm Beach Post's Joe Schad this morning reported Dolphins LB Jelani Jenkins, one of the four players Ross was referring to, "says he’s done kneeling during national anthem" (TWITTER.com, 9/15).
NOT HOLDING BACK: USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell notes Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones on yesterday hardly backed off his stance that it is "really disappointing" for anybody to use the NFL's platform to make social statements. But he "felt an urge to provide context, insisting that his response was to a question about the moving tribute to 9/11 first responders that the team showcased during pregame and halftime ceremonies at AT&T Stadium on Sunday." Jones said, "I wanted it to be all about commemorating 9/11, which to our nation was like Pearl Harbor." Jones, on protests against social injustice that started with 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, said, “I don’t have a thing to say about that." Bell writes in his view, Jones' comments "marginalized the concerns of many people -- primarily African-Americans and other minorities, whose worldview may lead them to believe there may be no better time for someone to exercise their First Amendment right" (USA TODAY, 9/15).
