Miami Dolphins to skip anthems, tired of ‘fluff and empty gestures’

The controversy surrounding the national anthem and the NFL continues more than four years after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled on the sidelines in 2016.

For their 2020 season, the Miami Dolphins have decided to remain in their locker room while both “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” are being performed at the beginning of each game.

Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores conducts drills during training camp at Hard Rock Stadium last month in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

Eighteen members of the football team created a video demanding action rather than symbolic gestures in the pursuit of social and racial justice and police reform.

“This attempt to unify only creates more divide. So we’ll skip this song and dance, and as a team, we’ll stay inside,” several Dolphins players combined to say in the just over two-minutes-long video issued 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.”

#Dolphins players are united in staying inside for both national anthems, united on social justice, and united on demanding less captions and more actions. They seek justice, answers, and real change. A video ?????? pic.twitter.com/KmtmtdyJbC

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2020

The Dolphins players advocate for a need for prison reform, justice against police brutality and an acknowledgment of the “millions for pregame patriotism,” referring to the $5 million the NFL receives from the U.S. military for the halftime salutes to soldiers.

The coordinated events between the league and the military may be one reason why player protests have been interpreted by many as protesting service members.

“We don’t need another publicity parade,” Dolphins safety Bobby McCain says. “If you speak up for change, I’ll shut up and play.”

Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts added, “So if my dad was a soldier, but the cops killed my brother, do I stand for one anthem and kneel for the other?”

At the end of the video, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores appears, supporting his players and providing a message: “Before the media starts wondering and guessing, they just answered all your questions. We’ll just stay inside.”

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