Miami Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn lashed out at the media for not paying enough attention to his national anthem protests, which he said are supposed to shine a light on racial problems in America.

“Y’all ignore it,” he said during a press conference Thursday, The Miami Herald reported. “Because when I gave my first message on trying to bring unity, y’all swept it under the rug.”

Mr. Quinn has been raising a fist during the national anthem since he joined the Dolphins in the offseason. The Miami Herald suggested that kneeling during the anthem in protest is “radioactive to many fans” and thus receives more coverage than players who simply raise a fist. For instance, Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills, who chooses to kneel during the anthem, is still routinely asked about his activism.

“Man, I don’t have nothing to do with Kenny,” Mr. Quinn told The Herald. “That ain’t got nothing to do with me. All I’m saying is, my production went up because I’m just playing football and America’s got a lot of problems to fix within itself. Tell America to look itself in the mirror and the people who built it.”

Mr. Quinn explained in April that he protests against “the way America was built” and “the way people talk.”

“The president said to build a wall to keep Mexicans out,” he said at the time, The Herald reported. “This country was built off of — they killed Indians, built off the backs of the blacks. So yet, they tell us to keep quiet. So at the end of the day, let’s confront the situation and let’s bring humanity and friendship and let’s get rid of all the ignorance. Let’s face it head-on, let’s look at each other as humans.”

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