Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase dismissed concerns on Thursday that NFL players could face any major punishment for protesting the anthem.
Gase would not say what the Dolphins might do with protesting players just ahead of the 2018 season, saying only that the team would wait and see what the league decides, according to the Miami Herald.
“I’ll wait and see what we’re told by the NFL and the NFLPA, as far as how their conversations go. I’ll wait till we actually start games,” Gase said at this week’s presser. “It seems like things change a lot.”
The Dolphins were swept up in the fight over the player protests when news broke last week that the team was prepared to fine players for breaking the NFL’s rule banning protests that was floated in May. But, later the team insisted that there was no actual decision to fine players.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said that the “player fines” language was only a “placeholder” in the policy statement waiting to be updated by the final word from the league. Ross claimed that they felt the need to get something in writing ahead of 2018 training camp, so the team simply reiterated the league’s May ruling.
But, at least according to Gase, even if players do protest he doubts anyone would ever be suspended over it.
“I mean, if anyone knew actual rules of the NFL, good luck suspending somebody. It takes about 5,000 things before anybody can get suspended by a club,” Gase exclaimed.
Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills, who protested during the anthem last year, recently affirmed that he thinks players have a right to protest against the country during the anthem.
“Obviously I’d like to see there be no policy at all, and the guys have a choice to go out there and do what they want to, and we can support each other and the decisions we want to make,” Stills said according to the Palm Beach Post.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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