Jemelle Hill: “Last week, the owner of the Miami Dolphins, Stephen Ross, announced that he was committing $13 million over the next four years to RISE, a nonprofit he created in 2015 to address systemic inequality and racism. ‘Growing up in Detroit, I saw firsthand what racism did to tear apart our community, destroy lives and further inequality,’ Ross said in a statement. ‘I started RISE based on the belief that our nation must address the scourge of racism directly to achieve true unity.'”
“This is the same Stephen Ross who, in August, hosted one of a pair of posh fundraisers for Donald Trump in the Hamptons that reportedly raised $12 million. The good news is that fighting racism is now $1 million ahead of supporting racism. The bad news is that Ross and several other NFL owners refuse to acknowledge that their past financial backing of the president undercuts any claims by them or the league that they want to promote racial healing.”
“Ross can’t just throw money at complex social-justice issues and expect that to absolve him of his affiliation with Trump, whose administration has proudly obstructed the very progress that Ross now claims he’s dedicated to making. He needs to send the message that he’s serious about his commitment to eradicating injustice by distancing himself from Trump.”
“Without denouncing Trump, all Ross is doing is making his financial commitment to social justice look insincere. The former Dolphins player Kenny Stills, whom Miami traded to the Houston Texans last year, tweeted that Ross only made the donation to receive a tax write-off. Stills had previously criticized Ross when the owner held the Hamptons fundraiser for Trump. Stills posted a screenshot of RISE’s mission statement and commented, ‘You can’t have a non profit with this mission statement then open your doors to Trump.’ As Kaepernick did, Stills has been kneeling during the national anthem before games since 2016 to bring attention to social justice and police brutality. For the Dolphins, Stills’s role in the anthem protests and his public criticism of Ross appear to have made him expendable.”