Within hours of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross being formally subpoenaed to testify in Colin Kaepernick's collusion case against the NFL, the Dolphins released a statement claiming Ross' remark that all of his players would be standing for the national anthem was "misconstrued," according to a source with knowledge of the situation. This comes on the heels of the Houston Texans releasing a statement to refute a report that the team will not sign any players who have protested before games, and as Kaepernick's lawyers continue to build their case and monitor pertinent comments.
Ross had been made aware of the subpoena before releasing his latest statement and as analysts were noting how any comments like those Ross was quoted as making could impact the grievance case and potentially other lawsuits.
Ross was quoted by the New York Daily News at an event in New York City (where he resides) as saying "all of our players will be standing," and quoted him at length on the topic. The story quickly spread nationally, leading to the Dolphins releasing a statement Tuesday afternoon in which Ross distanced himself from those remarks.
"I have no intention of forcing our players to stand during the anthem and I regret that my comments have been misconstrued," Ross' statement said in part.
The NFLPA issued a statement Tuesday afternoon reaffirming the right of players to demonstrate: "During this past season we received assurances from both commissioner Rodger Goodell and the chairman of the management council, John Mara, that the right of players to demonstrate would be protected."
This comes at a time when the league office and its owners are under intense scrutiny, with the Kaepernick case proceeding and with his legal team scheduling depositions with various parties. The quarterback's lawyers intend to interview numerous high-ranking officials and owners as part of the process, including Ross, with the sides attempting to solidify a time and place for the questioning of the Dolphins owner today. The process will begin this spring, possibly as soon as next month, after Kaepernick's legal team recently reviewed nearly 100,000 documents of electronic data pertaining to the case during the discovery process.
Kaepernick, a starting quarterback most of his career who led San Francisco to a Super Bowl yet could not secure an invitation to work out for an NFL team after he left the 49ers a year ago, remains unsigned. He has made only one free-agent visit in that time despite repeated attempts by his agents to secure him an opportunity following his decision to conduct a silent protest of police brutality and systemic oppression during the playing of the national anthem during the 2016 season, which spread into a social justice movement that the league office is now involved in.
