Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores chose to begin a practice this week with several Jay-Z tracks playing in a row, and it did not seem like a coincidence that the string of songs came the day after Kenny Stills openly criticized the NFL over its partnership with Roc Nation. As many suspected, it was not.
Following Miami’s 22-7 preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday, Flores admitted he chose the Jay-Z songs in an attempt to “challenge” Stills.
“It was a challenge to Kenny to perform regardless of whatever is going on outside,” Flores told reporters, via ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe. “I would say, and I said this to him, he hasn’t performed up to that level over the course of training camp, or as I’ve seen. So that was the challenge — to get open, catch the football and make plays for this team, regardless of what’s going on outside of this building.”
Flores openly challenged Stills at practice after the eight consecutive Jay-Z songs played, and he later addressed the team over it after being surprised at the amount of media attention the decision got. He told his players he supported Stills and his protest, and the wide receiver said the issue has been handled “in-house.”
“For the most part, I think it was him seeing if I could handle if people were going to heckle me or play Jay-Z in another stadium if I could be mentally strong enough to handle that sort of treatment,” Stills said. “I’ve been dealing with this since 2016 — music, boos, racial slurs. So I don’t think a little Jay-Z music is going to ruffle my feathers that bad.”
It’s worth noting that Flores was an assistant under Bill Belichick for many years, and we know how Belichick feels about distractions that are unrelated to football. Flores could be trying to send a message that it is time for Stills and the rest of the team to focus their attention exclusively on the field.
Stills said Monday that the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z’s company is “not something I agree with or respect.” The veteran also made headlines earlier in the month when he challenged Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’ support of Donald Trump. Stills has been a community activist during his time in Miami and is among those who protested during the national anthem.
