Dolphins Make Their Point in Powerful Video

The Miami Dolphins were featured in a video where they discussed their stance on the issue of racial injustice and indicated they would stay inside their locker room during the playing of the two anthems

Douglas DeFelice-USA Today Sports

The Miami Dolphins said all week they were discussing how they planned to deal with the issue of racial injustice before their 2020 season opener against the New England Patriots, and the powerful answer came Thursday night.

The Dolphins have produced a video when players take turns reciting a poem and declaring they would be "staying inside" during the playing of the national anthem and "Lift Your Voice And Sing."

The video had 268,000 views in the first hour after it was posted on Twitter.

Among the players who took part in the video are Kyle Van Noy, Bobby McCain, Preston Williams, Ted Karras, Jesse Davis, Patrick Laird, Byron Jones, Davon Godchaux, Isaiah Ford, Christian Wilkins and Mike Gesicki.

New linebacker Elandon Roberts took part in the video and said, "So if my dad was a soldier, but the cops killed my brother, do I stand for one anthem, and then kneel for the other?"

The video ends with head coach Brian Flores looking into the camera and saying, "Before the media starts wondering and guessing, they just answered all your questions."

This was the complete message of the video:

 Is it authentic? That’s the mystery. Or is it just another symbolic victory?

Now there’s two anthems. Do we kneel? Do we stand? If we could just right our wrongs, we wouldn’t need two songs.

We don’t need another publicity parade. So we’ll just stay inside until it’s time to play the game.

Whatever happened to the funds that were promised? All of a sudden we got a collapsed pocket? The bottom line should not be the net profit. You can’t open your heart when it’s controlled by your wallet.

Decals and patches. Fireworks and trumpets. We’re not puppets. Don’t publicize false budgets.

Ask the pundits and we shouldn’t have a say. If you speak up for change, then I’ll shut up and play.

If we remain silent, that would just be selfish. Since they don’t have a voice, we’re speaking up for the helpless.

It’s not enough to act like you care for the troops. Millions for pregame patriotism. You get paid to salute.

Lift every voice and sing? It’s just a way to save face. Lose the mask and stop hiding the real game face.

So if my dad was a soldier, but the cops killed my brother, do I stand for one anthem, and then kneel for the other?

This attempt to unify only creates more divide. So we’ll skip the song and dance. And as a team we’ll stay inside.

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.

When education is not determined by where we reside. And we have the means to purchase what the doctor prescribed.

And you fight for prison reform and innocent lives. And you repair the communities that were tossed to the side.

And you admit you gain from it, and swallow your pride. And when greed is not the compass, but love is the guide.

And when the courts don’t punish skin color, but punish the crime.

Until then, we’ll just skip the long production and stay inside. For centuries, we’ve been trying to make you aware.

Either you’re in denial, or just simply don’t really care. It’s not a black/white thing. Or a left/right thing. Let’s clean the whole bird, and stop arguing about which wing.