Kenny Stills – August 8, 2019 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 8, 2019
Postgame – Atlanta
WR Kenny Stills (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(In response to Mr. Ross holding the fundraiser for President Trump, what are your thoughts after that tweet still and the fact that he’s holding that fundraiser tomorrow?) – “My thoughts really haven’t changed. The tweet is what it is. I said what I said.”
(For somebody who’s so active in the community, especially for the Dolphins and the RISE initiative, do you kind of feel like it’s almost a betrayal or hypocritical in a sense?) – “That’s what I was saying in the tweet, was that it just didn’t really make much sense to me for what the mission statement was for RISE and what they are setting out to do. It doesn’t make sense to me for him to be trying to, or to be supporting the man’s campaign who seems to be against all of the things he is trying to work towards.”
(Have you talked to Mr. Ross?) – “I haven’t.”
(Do you plan to talk to Mr. Ross about this?) – “I’m sure at some point.”
(What would you like to say to him?) – “I mean, the same thing that I’ve already said. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t align, to be running a non-profit focused on equality and talking about sports and equality, and then to be holding a fundraiser for a man who we know isn’t standing up for that same cause or championing that same cause.”
(There’s been talk about people wanting to boycott this team. When you hear that, what do you think? Did you give any thought to not playing tonight?) – “I get it. I understand it. You know we all can make our own choices, and for me it’s not about politics. It’s never been about politics. It’s more just about the human being. I understand that some people think that you don’t say those types of things to your boss; but for me it’s just a human being and if you say you’re going to be about something, let’s be about it.”
(Will you continue to be involved with the RISE initiative after this?) – “I’ve tried to distance myself from the RISE initiative, just based off of the gut feeling that I’ve had. I’ve done little things here and there, but I wasn’t included in the Super Bowl thing that they did, and it’s just something that I felt in my gut from the beginning, and so I tried to distance myself from RISE. I respect the work that they’ve done; but it’s just the things aren’t aligning for me, so I try to stay away from it.”
(Do you view Mr. Ross as an ally still given what you’re trying to do?) – “I think he’s trying to be, but I don’t believe that you can play both sides.”
(Have you heard from the organization about your tweet?) – “It’s all about just staying focused and making sure that I perform on the field.”
(Did you get any feedback from the organization?) – “Yeah, it’s just all about making sure that I perform.”
(Do you want to continue to be a part of this organization?) – “Yeah. The tweet doesn’t put me against Mr. Ross. I’m just trying to inform him that the two things don’t align. I don’t think it’s that complicated. I don’t have any hard feelings toward him. There’s no beef. It’s just, hey, these two things don’t align and maybe somebody else hasn’t told you, but I’m letting you know. It’s important to me that the work that we’re doing isn’t just lip service. It’s real. Everything that I do has been real from the very beginning, and it’s going to continue to be that way. So, I just wanted to let him know that’s where I’m coming from and how I feel.”
(Did you think about calling Stephen Ross before you sent the tweet?) – “No. We’ve had plenty of private conversations, and through his statement you see his loyalty to his friend and I understand and respect that; but the two things don’t align when it comes to the non-profit and then holding this fundraiser for that man.”
(But just to be clear you did not talk to Stephen Ross privately before the tweet?) – “I did not.”
(You know how it is in this league that sometimes players who speak out, and you can think of QB Colin Kaepernick and S Eric Reid, how it’s frowned upon by some people in the league. Is there any chance that you might feel repercussions because you spoke out?) – “If those come, then they come. I feel like I’m doing God’s work. All the stuff that I’ve done, and the things that I’ve stood up for and spoken up for, I pray that God uses me every night for his message and that’s all that I’m doing.”
(What reaction have you heard from your teammates?) – “Most guys aren’t really paying attention, and I just try not to be a distraction to my teammates and it hasn’t been. We went out there and we won a football game tonight, and I just want to continue to perform and do what I’m paid to do.”
(Did you talk with Head Coach Brian Flores about it?) – “We did. He said to remain focused on the game and don’t let this stuff become a distraction to our team.”
(What about the reaction from QB Josh Rosen where he had the applause emojis that he sent to you? I’m sure you saw that. How do you feel about that?) – “I think people also agree with what I’m saying. The truth is all we want is for the work to be real and for it not to be lip service, like I said. What I tweeted wasn’t very complicated. The two things, they don’t coincide, they don’t go together, they’re very contradictory, and so I think guys understand that.”
(But you can appreciate that it’s rare for an NFL player to speak out on social media against his owner, right?) – “I honestly don’t think it’s that big of a deal or that courageous. It’s human being to human being and it’s not right. I don’t want to associate myself with bad people, and we shouldn’t want to be associated with bad people. Our country’s in a rough place right now, and I think that we could be doing more. I think there are other candidates he could support. It’s not Democrat, Republican, or any of those things. It’s literally just about why. Why? Why are you trying to help this man raise money to continue to do the things that he’s been doing?”
(Some of your guys flashed in your group tonight, WR Preston Williams, can you give us your thoughts on his performance?) – “You heard ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) talk about him the other day. He’s a first-round talent. He’s going to be somebody to deal with in this league for a long time, and so we’re looking forward to everything that he can do. I think the receivers as a whole played a good game, and the quarterbacks shined and did their thing. It’s not that big of a deal, but it’s a big deal for us to come out there and play hard and to get a victory in a preseason game.”
(What about that catch WR Preston Williams made?) – “Big time. Big time. You guys see the flashes of the talent that he has, and hopefully he can continue to get better and we can find a way to get him in the lineup and get him some catches throughout the season.”
(Before your tweet, did you have a conversation with your owner before?) – “The owner of the Miami Dolphins? No, I did not have a conversation with him before the tweet.”
(How did that make you feel when you heard the news that there would be a fundraiser?) – “I just was baffled more than anything because you look at the work that he’s done or the work that he’s trying to do through RISE and then you look at the work that the man that he’s hosting a fundraiser for has done, and it just didn’t align. It didn’t make sense and so I just was really just confused and baffled.”
(What types of conversations do you think you can have with Stephen Ross after this? What do you want to say to him?) – “Just, for us, I think for both of us to understand that you can’t play both sides of this. I respect his political decisions and what he wants to do and there’s no hard feelings or beef between us; but I think someone has to have enough courage to let him know you can’t play both sides of this and I have that, and it’s something that I can look back on myself and be like ‘Hey, I did the right thing. I made the right decision.’ Maybe I shouldn’t have done it on social media or on Twitter, but I did. If you’re going to associate yourself with bad people, then people are going to know about it, and I think there’s ways that you can support candidates without it being so public or without it being at your personal private residence. I just put it out there so everybody could see it.”
(There’s not many people who would risk a dream job to make the statement you made, to stand up for what you are standing up for. What message do you hope others get who could possibly help create positive change as well?) – “We have to lead by example, right? I can’t dream or think of someone else or call someone else out if I’m not going to do it. For me, it’s just ‘Hey, I’m just trying to lead by example. I’m trying to do the work that I feel like God has placed on my heart to do.’ If it comes with a little bit of kickback, that’s okay. Everything that I’ve done in my career has been to bring people together. I’m not here to try to have any divisive conversations or get in this back and forth about politics. It’s not about – It’s about human beings and loving and respecting each other and I don’t think that’s what we’re doing right now.”
(During the height of I guess 2017 with the kneeling and when Trump was really going after you guys, I think you said you got a couple death threats. Was that right? Did any of that pop back up?) – “Yeah. It’s back.”
(Within the last couple of days?) – “Yeah.”
(How many would you say?) – “Five to 10.”
(Five to 10 death threats?) – “Yeah. In a night. 24 hours.”
(Did you report them?) – “No. It’s on social media. It is what it is. I’ll be okay.”
