Players from the NFL’s Miami Dolphins released a video slamming the league for “fluff and empty gestures” in response to civil unrest in the country and announced they will stay inside the locker room for both national anthems.
“This attempt to unify only creates more divide. So we’ll skip this song and dance, and as a team, we’ll stay inside,” various Dolphins players combined to say in a 2-minute, 17-second video released on Thursday. “We need changed hearts, not just a response to pressure. Enough, no more fluff and empty gestures. We need owners with influence and pockets bigger than ours to call up officials and flex political power.”
BREAKING NEWS: The@MiamiDolphins players will stay inside for both national anthems. They express their discontentment with what they call “fluff and empty gestures” by the @NFL pic.twitter.com/ghUktHhPt9
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) September 10, 2020
Dolphins players, both black and white, criticized the NFL for “empty gestures” and specifically took issue with the league’s decision to play the “black national anthem” before the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Is it authentic?” one black player asked. “That’s the mystery.”
A white player then asked if the additional anthem is “just another symbolic victory.”
“So if my dad was a soldier but the cops killed my brother, do I stand for one anthem and kneel for the other?” Linebacker Elandon Roberts asked.
At the conclusion of the video, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores issues his stamp of approval on the video and the decision to stay inside the locker room during the anthem when the Dolphins kick off their season on Sunday.
“Before the media starts wondering and guessing, they just answered all your questions,” Flores said. “We’ll just stay inside.”
The first game of the 2020 NFL season was played Thursday night, and only one player took a knee for the anthem, but players on both teams linked arms during the anthem, prompting some fans in attendance to boo from the stands.
