Dolphins owner Stephen Ross walks back anthem comments, won't force players to stand

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

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Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said Tuesday that his comments the previous night about players standing for the national anthem were "misconstrued" by The New York Daily News.

While in New York City to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Jackie Robinson Foundation on Monday, Ross told the newspaper that the team's players would not kneel during the national anthem moving forward.

"All of our players will be standing," Ross said, according to the report.

Less than 24 hours later, the 77-year-old offered a different take to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, explaining that he will not force players to stand.

"I have no intention of forcing our players to stand during the anthem, and I regret that my comments have been misconstrued," Ross told the newspaper. "I’ve shared my opinion with all our players: I’m passionate about the cause of social justice and I feel that kneeling is an ineffective tactic that alienates more people than it enlists.

"I know our players care about the military and law enforcement too, because I’ve seen the same players who are fighting for social justice engaging positively with law enforcement and the military. I care passionately that the message of social justice resonates far and wide, and I will continue to support and fund efforts for those who fight for equality for all."

Ross told The Daily News that he was initially supportive of players who kneeled during the anthem, a gesture that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others have described as a means of protesting police brutality and racial inequality. But he said his feelings changed when he felt the demonstrations instead became protests against "support of our country or the military," according to the report.

President Donald Trump has been arguably the most vocal purveyor of this point of view, repeatedly blasting the NFL, its players and commissioner Roger Goodell as disrespectful of the armed services.

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"When that message changed, and everybody was interpreting it as that was the reason, then I was against kneeling," Ross told The Daily News. "I like Donald (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. 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."

In response to Ross' comments - and the Houston Texans' denying a report in the Houston Chronicle that their ownership is avoiding signing players who might protest - the NFL Players Association released a statement Tuesday that reads in part:

"... During this past season, we received assurances from both commissioner Roger Goodell, and the chairman of the management council, John Mara, that the right of players to demonstrate would be protected. We are glad that both the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins have clarified their positions ... "

Statement on Players' Right to Demonstrate pic.twitter.com/JRfDiQ3Qf5 — NFLPA (@NFLPA) March 6, 2018

According to The Miami Herald, the Dolphins will return at least one player who regularly kneeled during the national anthem last season: Wide receiver Kenny Stills. Tight end Julius Thomas and wide receiver Michael Thomas also took a knee, but it is unclear whether either will be back with the team in 2018.

Ross, who sits on the board of directors for the Jackie Robinson Foundation, was in New York on Monday to accept the organization's ROBIE Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the founder of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), a non-profit that describes its mission as "harnessing the unifying power of sports to improve race relations and drive social progress."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.