The Dolphins can no longer play ping pong in the locker room.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel revealed today that the ping pong table that had been added to the locker room this year has been removed, at the team captains’ request. McDaniel said wide receiver Tyreek Hill informed him that he and the other captains had agreed they think the ping pong table is an unnecessary distraction.
“Tyreek and the captains decided that they wanted to take a step forward with all their opponent prep with regard to the team and with their preparation with our game plans in general. So he made the move to take the ping pong tables out of the locker room. That, to me, is leadership,” McDaniel said. “To me, leadership is acting, not talking. There’s a bunch of different examples from those guys and that’s why they’re captains. That’s why we rely on them. Because it’s about solving problems, not complaining about them. They collectively as a group of players wanted more time investment during the week on their jobs for Sunday. So instead of just saying it, they did something about it and that’s the whole reason that I really have a lot of love for those guys.”
Just a couple of weeks ago, Hill and other Dolphins players were saying that the ping pong table was good for the locker room, saying that it enhanced team camaraderie and introduced some competitiveness to the team even when they weren’t on the field. But a couple weeks ago, the Dolphins were 3-0. Now they’re 3-2.
On a two-game losing streak, the Dolphins are going to change whatever they can to make their locker room a more businesslike atmosphere.