Miami’s Stephen Ross is the second NFL owner to issue a statement against President Trump’s call to fire NFL players who protest during the national anthem.
“Our country needs unifying leadership right now, not more divisiveness,” Ross said. “We need to seek to understand each other and have civil discourse instead of condemnation and sound bites. I know our players who kneeled for the anthem and these are smart young men of character who want to make our world a better place for everyone. They wanted to start a conversation and are making a difference in our community, including working with law enforcement to bring people together. We all can benefit from learning, listening and respecting each other. Sports is a common denominator in our world. We all have the responsibility to use this platform to promote understanding, respect and equality.”
Ross is the founder of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, which seeks to use sports to “bring people together to promote understanding, respect and equality.”