Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins, who has been a leader among NFLers raising social awareness, said the thing he is most proud about is "being able to activate so many athletes." Appearing on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last night, Jenkins said, "We've seen one-offs in the past where one guy is standing on the mantle by himself. But we've been engaging over 60 current and former NFL players that all have in some form or fashion been engaged in these issues and we're able to not only talk about on a national standpoint, but from a local standpoint." He added, "We're able to focus on district attorneys' races all over the country ... so when we talk about changing our cash bail system where 500,000 people on any given night are in jail not because they committed a crime, but because they're too poor to get out, they can't buy their freedom." Jenkins said he not go to the White House if invited because he is "not interested in a photo op." But show host Trevor Noah said if President Trump "said, 'Come to the White House, Malcolm Jenkins, and then we can have a discussion on criminal justice reform, et cetera,' would you go? Jenkins: "If it was serious in nature, then (yes)" ("The Daily Show," Comedy Central, 3/6).
THE ISSUE AT HAND: YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Adelson wrote a report that Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross will make players stand during the national anthem next season "underscores the difficulty of what NFL players are trying to accomplish." Ross is "one of the league’s leading advocates of social justice" and yet he is "unwilling to fully push back against a narrative that has been used to deride and diminish a movement in the name of equality" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/6). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said, "This is the precarious (position) all these owners are in. They feel like they are stuck between picking between black and white, between freedom and injustice, and they don't know how to make these decisions." Ross wants to "be on the right side of history with this, but he's got business partners who want everyone to stand, and he's stuck in the middle trying to placate every side as he's trying to be an advocate" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 3/6). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes fans can "question Ross’s ability to get nuanced thoughts across" as it is "not the first time it has been a problem." But Ross has "earned some benefit of the doubt." Hyde: "What owner has supported social causes more than him with his Ross Initiative for Sports Equality?" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/7). The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero predicted this will have "zero" impact on the Dolphins' free agency plans. Salguero: "I've heard players complain about coaches, I've heard players complain about each other, I've heard players complain about the heat and humidity. I've never heard a Miami Dolphin complain about Stephen Ross, and I've never heard a player complain about the money Stephen Ross has offered to pay them" ("PFT," NBCSN, 3/7)
NOT HOLDING BACK: In N.Y., Carron Phillips writes Ross has been "one of the most flamboyant hypocrites in recent history." He has been "all over the place, saying and doing all the right things to prove to us that he's a habitual hypocrite." After saying players would be standing earlier in the week, Ross has "conveniently tried to backtrack on his words by saying they were 'misconstrued.'" Ross' words are just "another example of how he flip-flops when it comes to social issues." Phillips: "Ross is a two-faced con-artist who says whatever he needs to in order to please the people around him in whatever room he's spewing his propaganda. He has no principle and openly masquerades in public as a person who cares about race relations in this country" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 3/7).
