Dolphins' new policy will affect WR Kenny Stills, who knelt during the anthem last seasonGetty Images
Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross today said that he "would not make players stand during the national anthem," refuting a N.Y. Daily News report from last night, according to Dave Hyde of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. Ross in a statement said, "I have no intention of forcing players to stand during the anthem and I regret that my comments have been misconstrued. I've shared my opinion with all our players: I'm passionate about the cause of social justice and I feel that kneeling is an ineffective tactic that alienates more people than it enlists" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 3/6). In N.Y., Christian Red in the initial piece reports Ross said all players going forward "will be standing" during the anthem. Ross indicated that he "supported NFL players taking a knee," but his feelings "changed when he felt the message being sent by players kneeling was a protest against 'support of our country or the military.'" Ross: "When that message changed, and everybody was interpreting it as that was the reason, then I was against kneeling. I like Donald (Trump). I don't support everything that he says. Overall, I think he was trying to make a point, and his message became what kneeling was all about. From that standpoint, that is the way the public is interpreting it. So I think that's really incumbent upon us to adopt that. That's how, I think, the country now is interpreting the kneeling issue" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/6). After allowing players to kneel early last season, the Dolphins last October "asked players who wanted to kneel ... to stay behind in the locker-room" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/6). The topic will "likely be discussed at the league’s owner’s meeting later this month." It is possible that the NFL could "vote to change league rules, requiring players to stand for the anthem like the NBA does" (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 3/6).
ENOUGH OF A REASON? NBCSN's Mike Florio notes he understands Ross' reported reasoning for changing his stance, but said, "I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to abandon your support for why the guys are protesting in the first place." Florio: "Just because some politician has co-opted it doesn’t mean you abandon it. If you take that away, then how do the players voice their concerns as it relates to police brutality? They had an effective way, it raised attention to the issue." Protesting during the anthem is a "conundrum for the NFL, but I don’t think this helps matters, though, by saying that all players are going to stand." This stance "almost dares them to not stand” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 3/5). FS1's Shannon Sharpe said Ross reportedly is "falling into the trap that many Americans have fallen into." Sharpe: "Rather than backing his players, he's backing the coverage in which the players have received. Where is that outrage that he has for his players kneeling in protest of the police killing unarmed black men and women? Where is that outrage to fix the problem?" He added, "I just wish the NFL had a closer relationship with its players like the NBA” (“Undisputed,” FS1, 3/6). Redskins S DeAngelo Hall: "The owner should not be able to tell you, but because we're in the NFL, and the way the NFL is run -- it's not run like the NBA. In the NBA, all your superstars speak up, they fight together. If Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were our NFLPA presidents like Chris Paul and LeBron, how they are so instrumental in everything that happens in the NBA, we'd be a different league” ("First Take," ESPN, 3/6).
PLAYING THE TRUMP CARD: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Darin Gantt notes Ross discussing his friendship with Trump "makes it clear that the NFL’s biggest desire in this situation is for all the noise to go away, and they’re willing to yield to the person who screams the loudest to make that happen" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 3/6). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, "What happened was, because the President of the United States successfully hijacked the message and changed it into something that it wasn't, that ultimately affected their bottom line. Now they have to make a choice -- am I going to side with y'all at the expense of my bottom line?” (“First Take,” ESPN, 3/6).
NOT SO FAST: The Texans yesterday in a statement said a recent report that suggests the team would not sign a player who protested is "categorically false and without merit." The statement continued: "The Texans ownership, coaching, personnel and executive staff sign and hire employees based on talent, character and fit within our organization." YAHOO SPORTS' Jason Owens wrote that is "firm language from an organization with extra sensitivity around race relations and last season’s prolonged controversy over players using pregame renditions of the anthem as a platform to protest social inequality" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/5). NBCSN’s Chris Simms said, “That’s what we would expect the Texans to release as far as a public statement, but there are questions here, certainly. I do think teams are going to shy away from the supporters or the kneelers that were the most aggressive about it” ("PFT," NBCSN, 3/5).
