Dolphins owner waffles on anthem policy
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he hadn’t decided whether to actually discipline players who protest during the national anthem when he formally told the team that the demonstrations could be punishable.
“We were asked to submit a form to the NFL on our overall discipline policy prior to the start of the rookie report date,” Ross said in a statement Friday, explaining why a onesentence reference to “Proper Anthem Conduct” was included in the team’s official discipline policy. “The one line sentence related to the national anthem was a placeholder as we haven’t made a decision on what we would do, if anything, at that point.”
President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of protesting players, said Friday that players should be suspended for a game for kneeling once, then suspended for the season with no pay if they kneel a second time.
“Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand,” Trump tweeted, referring to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Miami’s policy was obtained Thursday by the Associated Press and listed anthem conduct under behavior that could be found “detrimental to the club.”
The list contains a wide range of violations, including criminal acts, breaking curfew, using or possessing drugs, riding a motorcycle, visiting public places declared off-limits by the club and inappropriate use of tablets and mobile devices. It also says players can be punished for criticizing teammates, officials or NFL executives.
Violations carry potential penalties of suspension with or without pay, or fines. The maximum penalty is a four-game suspension and a fine of another week of pay.
A person familiar with league protocol said Friday that NFL teams were not required to create any anthem policies when they submitted their annual discipline notices to the league and players.