Stephen Ross told Miami Dolphins players before last season's opener that taking a stand by taking a knee in support of Colin Kaepernick was fine.

Michael Thomas said after explaining his concerns to Ross, the owner replied: "I've got y'all's back 100 percent."

"I remember that like it was yesterday," the defensive back said. "With everything racing through our minds, trying to decide if that was something we would actually go through with, of taking a knee. ... September 11th -- that's a whole different aspect.

"I saw Mr. Ross come in the locker room. I'm going up to him, trying to explain to him in a way, letting him know, like, 'Look, we're thinking about doing this, thinking about taking a knee.' And for him to stop me and say, 'Look, Mike, whatever y'all choose to do today, I've got y'all's back 100 percent' -- that’s a testament to what type of person he is, how he truly feels about equality for all, and the efforts he's made with the RISE program. It's great to have the owner of the Dolphins have that perspective.

"It'd be great to see more owners take after him."

The RISE program (the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality) was founded by the owner in 2015 to use his sports platform for social causes.