Dolphins' Brian Flores Says He's Had Police Point Guns at Him: 'I've Lived This'

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores used part of his media availability Friday to speak about his experiences with racial injustice and police officers.  

Flores told reporters he's "lived this" and has had "guns pointed at me by police officers."

Flores has been outspoken on issues of race, particularly in recent months since the killings of George Floyd in May and Breonna Taylor in March.

The Dolphins head coach released this statement on May 29 in the aftermath of Floyd's killing:

“I vividly remember the Colin Kaepernick conversations. 'Don’t ever disrespect the flag’ was the phrase that I heard over and over again. This idea that players were kneeling in support of social justice was something some people couldn’t wrap their head around. The outrage that I saw in the media and the anger I felt in some of my own private conversations caused me to sever a few long-standing friendships. Most recently, I’ve had conversations about incentivizing teams for hiring minorities. Again, there was some outrage in the media and talks that this would cause division amongst coaches, executives and ownership. I bring these situations up because I haven’t seen the same OUTRAGE from people of influence when the conversation turns to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and most recently George Floyd. Many people who broadcast their opinions on kneeling or on the hiring of minorities don’t seem to have an opinion on the recent murders of these young black men and women.”

Coaches and athletes in all sports have used their platforms this week to take a stand.

Scheduled events in the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and tennis have been postponed after players refused to play in the aftermath of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer Sunday. 

Flores and the Dolphins are scheduled to open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.