The Miami Dolphins fined safety Don Jones for tweeting a negative comment about openly gay draft pick Michael Sam — and then ordered him to “educational training” to learn sensitivity.
Mr. Jones tweeted “OMG” and “horrible” after Mr. Sam turned to his male partner during the televised national draft pick event and exchanged a big kiss.
Mr. Jones deleted the tweets, but the public relations damage had already been done. He quickly sent out a statement of apology for what he said were “inappropriate comments” he made on social media, Breitbart reported.
His statement: “I take full responsibility for them, and I regret that these tweets took away from his draft moment. I remember last year when I was drafted in the seventh round and all of the emotions and happiness I felt when I received the call that gave me an opportunity to play for an NFL team, and I wish him all the best in his NFL career. I sincerely apologize to Mr. Ross [owner Stephen M. Ross], my teammates, coaches, staff and fans for these tweets. I am committed to represent the values of the Miami Dolphins organization and appreciate the opportunity I have been given to do so going forward.”
The coach of the Dolphins, Joe Philbin, said the organization was “disappointed” to see Mr. Jones’ tweets.
He also said that “we met with Don today about respect, discrimination and judgment. These comments are not consistent with the values and standards of our program. We will continue to emphasize and educate our players that these statements will not be tolerated.”
The Sun Sentinel reported that Mr. Jones has also been banned from all team activities until he attends and finishes “educational training” to address the matter.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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