Yarkbarkers

1. Dolphins attempt to do damage control on anthem protest issue

   Months after the NFL passed an anthem policy without players’ input — one that appeared to reignite the issue and please few in the process — the NFLPA’s grievance caused the league to pump the brakes on it. Now, the old policy is in place after the NFL and the union agreed to resume talks on the issue.Some new developments surfaced Friday. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross attempted to navigate the PR damage his team’s anthem policy — potentially a four-game suspension for players who kneel during the song’s playing, news of which broke before the NFL-NFLPA’s joint statement emerged Thursday night — by saying this course of action was merely a placeholder.“We were asked to submit a form to the NFL on our overall discipline policy prior to the start of the rookie report date. The one-line sentence related to the national anthem was a placeholder as we haven’t made a decision on what we would do, if anything, at that point,” Ross said in a statement (Twitter link).Giants co-owner Steve Tisch also discussed this issu

2. Sports & Politics Intersect: Survivors shine spotlight on sexual abuse in athletics

   "To all the survivors out there: don't let anyone rewrite your story. Your truth does matter, you matter, and you are not alone." - Aly Raisman, Olympic medalist and sexual abuse survivorOn Wednesday, more than 140 women victimized and sexually abused by former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar took the stage at the 2018 ESPY Awards to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Their presence was a testament of their bravery, while also serving as a reminder of the institutional failures at multiple levels that enabled Nassar to abuse them for so long. “All we needed was one adult to have the integrity to stand between us and Larry Nassar,” Aly Raisman, one of the more prominent members of the group and recent focus of an ESPN The Magazine profile, said during the acceptance speech.“If just one adult had listened, believed, and acted, the people standing before you on this stage would have never met him.”It's become apparent since the Michigan State/Larry Nassar story broke that sexual abuse by individuals

3. 90-in-90 Miami Dolphins roster breakdown: Jonathan Woodard

   The middle of July is typically a slow news time until teams get back on the practice field, something that will happen for the Miami Dolphins late next week. Of course, yesterday also featured the Dolphins making news for their National Anthem conduct policy, which was then followed by the NFL putting on hold the league’s Anthem policy - which is what Miami codified in their conduct policy - in order to negotiate with the NFLPA. Yesterday somehow became interesting despite it being the middle of July. Despite all of the fun, we did have two more of our annual 90-in-90 series articles post, giving closer looks at two members of the Miami roster. Today, we add another look at a player on the 90-man preseason roster. These articles take a look at the 2017 performance of the player, followed by a look at reasons he could progress in 2018, or reasons why he could regress this upcoming season. The articles then close with a look at the chances of the player making the regular season’s 53-man roster. This year, w

4. Miami Dolphins owner backs off NFL anthem discipline policy

   Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross backtracked in a statement on Friday about the team’s national anthem discipline policy.On Thursday, word emerged that the Dolphins included anthem protests among the many actions that could lead to a personal conduct suspension from the team, which would be up to a four-game suspension.The Dolphins are backing off now.“We were asked to submit a form to the NFL on our overall discipline policy prior to the start of the rookie report date,” Ross said in a statement. “The one line sentence related to the national anthem was a placeholder as we haven’t made a decision on what we would do, if anything, at that point. I’m pleased that the NFL and NFLPA are taking a pause to figure out a resolution on this issue. I am passionate about social justice and through the Miami Dolphins and creation of RISE, will continue to use the unifying power of sports to improve race relations and drive social progress.”The fallout from the story led the NFL and NFLPA to announce that they were enga

5. NFL-NFLPA agree to pause National Anthem policy hours after Dolphins conduct policy goes public

   News broke yesterday that the Miami Dolphins had included the possibility of suspending players up to four games for protesting during the National Anthem. The wording of the policy, which was included in the team’s annual conduct policy submitted to the league, listed the protests as “conduct detrimental to the club,” under which teams are allowed to fine or suspend players. The Dolphins were not said to be definitely planning to suspend any players, but had included it - likely as a part of the league’s efforts to end the National Anthem protests. The league had previously announced a policy which required all members of the team - player, coach, and staff - who are on the sideline during the National Anthem to stand. They would allow anyone who did not want to stand to remain in the locker room during the anthem, and any team that had members kneel or conduct some other protest would face a fine. The league stressed that it would be the team that would be fined, with the teams then left to decide what the