It’s about the healing

Behind the NFL player protests.

DAVIE— Michael Thomas looked at his phone Monday and saw video of an unarmed black man shot by police in Tulsa.

“That’s our reality,” the Dolphins safety thought.

He looked at his phone Tuesday before a meeting with police and community leaders and saw that therewas a protest in Charlotte over a black man being shot by police.

“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” he thought.

He’s still kneeling for the national anthem. Three Dolphins players are. They knowit’s not popular. They’ve received death threats on social media, been called the n-word by fans and, in Thomas’ case, he’s driven up to his home at times with one eye looking for any trouble.

“No one has come tomy door step, yet, with a gun,” he said.

But the meeting Tuesday night at the Dolphins’ offices showed how this spotlight can bring people together. And start a conversation. And maybe, just maybe, allowthe healing wheels of change to start.

Because thiswas a meeting full of names: Thomas and teammates Jelani Jenkins, Kenny Stills and Arian Foster; team executives including CEO Tom Garfinkel, vice president of communication and community affairs Jason Jenkins and former players Dan Marino and Jason Taylor; and several Broward and Miami-Dade police chiefs and civic leaders.

“It showed it’s possible for people who are protesting, whowant to see change, that they can work with the lawenforcement,” Thomas said Wednesday. “And lawenforcement recognizes there is a problem.”

“Itwas a start,” said Col. Steve Kinsey, undersheriff of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. “They had a chance to explain themselves, how they weren’t anti-police or anti-military.

“Wewere all in agreement when I spoke about needing communication and understanding. I’ve never been a victim of racism. I’ve never been pulled over driving a nice car. We as police officers need to have an understanding of that.

“At the same time, they need to understand what we go through every day as police officers. I sit behind a desk now, but Iwas out there for years. It’s a reality every night that police don’t come home. Their lives are at risk.”

All thiswas Phase II of the Dolphins players’ campaign to go from words to deeds. Theywere looking forways to initiate change. Fromthis meeting and other discussions, several events are happening.

Beginning with Sunday’s game against Cleveland, the Dolphins are planning to hold a tailgate party before each home game involving team, law-enforcement and invited at-risk youth and families.

Law-enforcement officials also will start joining some team events in schools. And when the high school player and coach of theweek are awarded at Dolphins games, a lawenforcement official will be on hand.

Ideas were shared at Tuesday’s meeting. Former rapper Luther Campbell talked of how when he

started coaching youth sports in Liberty City years ago, 50 percent of the coacheswere police offices. Now, he said, none is.

“That’s something we need to think about,” Kinsey said.

“Thiswas the whole idea behind [kneeling],” Thomas said. “It wasn’t like, OK, we talked about it, we’re touchy-feely, and it’s good. We wanted some action moving forward.”

All this shows social protest is alive, and it’s healthy for America. It’s a founding pillar going back to the Boston Tea Party. On Tuesday, Alabama football coach Nick Saban discussed being a student at Kent State when four students were shot to death protesting the Vietnam War.

“It probably [did] more to stop thewar in Vietnam than anything else, unfortunately for the students,” Saban said.

Thomas knows the cost of this. He only decided to kneel for the opener in Seattle when team owner Steve Ross told him in the locker room to “dow hat you think is right.”

Social-media death theats have come. Several teammates were clear they weren’t on board, Thomas said. But a meeting like Tuesday’s, starting some winds of change, suggests it can have the desired ending.

“It wasn’t like, OK, we talked about it, we’re touchy-feely, and it’s good. We wanted some action moving forward.” Dolphins safety Michael Thomas