Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said no one on his team will kneel during the playing of the national anthem at games next season.
“Initially, I totally supported the players in what they were doing,” Ross told the New York Daily News. “It’s America and people should be able to really speak about their choices.”
However, in Ross’s mind, the players’ message changed to one against the military or the country at large, specifically after President Trump tweeted that he was against the kneeling.
“When that message changed, and everybody was interpreting it as that was the reason, then I was against kneeling,” Ross said. “I like [Mr. 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,” he said. “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.”
Ross, 77, has owned the Dolphins since 2008. He made his fortune in real estate development primarily in New York City, like Trump.
Three Dolphins players — Kenny Stills, Michael Thomas and Julius Thomas — knelt for the anthem at certain games last season. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first to take up the protest in 2016 in an attempt to draw awareness to police brutality against black men.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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