MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores says the team’s new video addressing racial injustice was player driven, had the team owner’s support and sought to send a message that “we can all do better.”
The 2-minute, 15-second video features nearly 20 players trading stern rhymes about the nation’s social protest movement. They call for more action by NFL owners and criticize “empty gestures,” such as the league’s decision to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — the Black national anthem — before games.
Flores, who speaks at the end of the video, said it was directed “at everyone.”
“I think every individual in this country can do a little bit better,” he said Friday. “That was the message. We can all do better. We all need to do better. We need change.”
In the video, the players say the team will remain in the locker room while the national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” are played before Sunday’s opener at New England.
Flores said team owner Stephen Ross was supportive of the video, which was posted on social media Thursday. The Dolphins didn’t respond to a request for comment from Ross, and the NFL didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Kaleb Thornhill, the Dolphins’ director of player engagement, worked with the team’s social justice committee to create the video, Flores said.
“That group of guys had a lot of conversations,” Flores said. “Kaleb spearheaded a lot of the conversation. They wrote a lot of what they thought down on paper, and were able to communicate it in the video.”
The video features Black and white players.
“I think we’re extremely unified,” said tight end Mike Gesicki, one of the players to speak in the video. “We’ve had a ton of good discussions as a team. It has been productive for us as a team.”
Flores said he also believes his team is unified on the divisive subject of racial injustice.
“The message is to try to create unity, not divide,” he said. “I feel like we’re all on the same page. I hope it’s that way.”
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