stillAlthough unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to be the name and face most commonly attached to last year’s National Anthem protests, plenty of other players followed his lead. Those players included Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills.
And while Kaepernick reportedly will be standing in 2017 (if/when he’s on an NFL team), Stills has made no such commitment. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether Stills plans to engage in anthem protests in the coming season, Stills said this: “I guess we’ll see when the time comes. I’m doing my best to continue to work and make an impact in the community, and I feel like that’s the most important part about what I’m doing right now.”
It’s obvious that Stills, who signed a four-year, $32 million contract in the offseason, will do whatever he thinks he needs to do in order to make a positive impact -- and that he would have done what he did last year even without the support of the organization.
“It was a relief that we knew that Mr. [Stephen] Ross was going to be standing behind us; but no, it was something that the decision that we made it was going to be something we were doing regardless,” Stills said. “And that’s no disrespect to the organization or Mr. Ross, but it’s something that we felt strongly about and so we stood by that decision.”
For Stills, it’s much more than making a visible gesture aimed at raising awareness of societal problems. It’s about actions.
“I think here locally we’ve done everything that we can and we’re going to continue to do that,” Stills said. “The ride-along that we did last year with law enforcement is something that we’re going to try to do again this year and something that we’re trying to expand on throughout the league, and so I just try to focus on the positive things that we’ve done here and try and spread the message to other guys and other teams. . . .
“I mean I try to do my best to just do the right thing in all situations and that’s how I handle it. I’ve gotten more involved this past year and that’s something that I just . . . I can’t hold back on because it’s something that is true to my heart and so that’s kind of how I handle every situation I come across.”
While many may disagree with some of the methods aimed at raising awareness, it’s hard to take issue with the idea of devoting time and effort to solving problems in communities and improving communication among groups that have a history of friction that has at times bubbled over into hostility and violence. For that, Stills should be praised. As to Kaepernick’s role in addressing similar issues, here’s hoping that those who take issue with what he did during the playing of the national anthem can at some point recognize other less controversial steps he has taken to address some of the very real challenges society is confronting.