MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. _ A Miami Dolphins rookie made a rookie mistake.
For most rookies this level of error in judgment, or poor execution would have gotten them called into Brian Flores' office, but in this instance the Dolphins' head coach can't exactly discipline himself.
But maybe Flores should.
Flores, the man who has consistently preached about putting the team ahead of self, and minimizing distractions, put his own agenda over the franchise's best interest this week.
He did so by trolling Kenny Stills with eight straight Jay-Z songs during practice a day after the Dolphins receiver and social activist criticized the music mogul for how he handled discussing protesting NFL players during a press conference that addressed his company Roc Nation's new music and social justice partnership with the NFL.
Flores said Thursday night that he chose those songs to get Stills to focus on "catching the football, and make plays for this team regardless of what's going on outside of this building."
He wanted to see if Stills was tough enough to keep his focus after hearing a few Jay-Z songs.
But Stills has been a player who has knelt during the playing of the national anthem before games since Day 1 in 2016, which means he's suffered through three years of criticism and attacks.
Stills, a two-time captain and three-time winner of the Dolphins Nat Moore Community Service honor for his work in the community, has also been forced to endure multiple death threats, many of which came this month after he criticized Dolphins owner Steve Ross for his support of President Donald Trump.
It is not necessary to question the toughness of someone who has dealt with threats made on his life, or challenge the mental makeup of a professional athlete willing to sacrifice his career for a cause he believes in.
"I've been dealing with this since 2016. Music, boos, racial slurs," Stills said. "I don't think a little bit of Jay-Z is going to ruffle my feathers."
The 99 Problems Flores created with his Jay-Z playlist backed the 38-year-old coach into a corner, and led to him standing in front of a team meeting and telling his players that "I support Kenny" and the player protest.
"Quite honestly, they are bringing attention to my story," Flores said after Thursday night's 22-7 preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"I'm the son of immigrants," said Flores, whose parents are from Honduras. "I'm black. I grew up poor. I grew up in New York during the stop-and-frisk era, so I've been stopped because I fit a description before. So everything these guys have protested, I've lived through. I've experienced it."
While that confession is indeed refreshing to hear, it's also timed just right because of Flores' actions, which had the potential to isolate Stills and create division in the locker room.
Flores said the Jay-Z playlist was "a challenge" to have Stills perform better in practice amidst the distraction.
In fairness to Flores, Stills' productivity has tailed off the past few weeks. His dip in production coincidentally coincided with Stills calling out Ross for contradicting the mission statement of his non-profit organization RISE, the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, by hosting a fundraiser for Trump's reelection campaign.
Was Stills coasting during the dog days of training camp and the exhibition season, pacing himself for the regular season that kicks off a little over two weeks, or was he not focused?
Only Stills knows the answer to that question. But considering he's been one of the Dolphins' most reliable players the past few seasons _ scoring 24 touchdowns the past four years _ he deserves the benefit of doubt.
Stills deserves to be supported, not humiliated. That's something a rookie head coach, who says he understands why Stills continues to take a knee despite all the negativity that comes with it, should have known.
Flores expects any player who makes a mistake on the practice field to own up to it by running to the Takes No Talent wall. Well, the Dolphins' new coach needs to take a T.N.T. lap for creating an unnecessary and unwelcomed distraction for his team.
