By Kevin Perez

The Miami Dolphins High School Media Day is a South Florida tradition. High School journalists have the opportunity to meet the team’s rookie class and ask questions; however, like most events in the COVID-19 era, this year’s media day was hosted online. 

Student journalists across South Florida were invited to register for the event and submit questions. Twan Russel, the Miami Dolphins’ Senior Director of Community Affairs, moderated the discussion which went on for over an hour.

The Miami Dolphins made a lot of news last season, both on and off the field. They had a losing season and an exciting draft pick in fan favorite, Tua Tagovailoa.  But, most questions were not related to football at all, instead, the discussion addressed the players themselves: their ability to use their platform for change, financial problems that they faced in college, personal eating habits, and how they use social media. 

Social Platforms 

The first question that started off the panel discussion was related to platform usage. 

Among those answering were: Austin Jackson, Blake Ferguson, Ty Render, Malcom Perry, Jonathan Hubbard, and Matt Cole. 

Malcom Perry, who attended the United States Naval Academy, said they can enact changes within the military to address the social injustice problems that occur in the military and not only in the outside world. 

Blake Ferguson, long snapper for the Miami Dolphins, took a more kumbaya approach, encouraging people to “show love and respect to everybody.”

As everyone knows, these are tense times. And many wonder, “are protests working?”

That question was directed at the players. Matt Cole responded, saying that he thought the protests were “slowly making change” and that all races protesting are all in for change. Jonathan Hubbard also said that as people see these athletes from across all sports speak out, it educates younger fans. 

Financial Literacy 

It is well documented that many professional athletes face financial struggles, both before their careers begin and after it ends.

Tony Conley, regional president for Truist, provided players, and student journalists, some advice. His major points of advice were: Be conservative in spending, be smart, and start saving early so you can put yourself in a good position. 

Nick Katlymayer, admitted that he spent far too much money on video games, he said. While Robert Hunt and Bryce Stark shared that they spent too much on food. Stark added that, in retrospect, he should have spent more time cooking and preparing his own meals instead of buying so much. 

One of the more serious questions brought up on the Financial Literacy topic was how to say no when people, namely friends and family, ask for money. Jason Strowbridge had this to say: “point them in a direction of a financial advisor… someone other than yourself”

Nutrition 

John Parenti II, Director of Sports Nutrition spoke on the topic of nutrition. His advice is to hydrate, never skip a meal, and eat right. The rookies present to discuss this topic were: Brandon Jones, Kirk Merrit, Benito Jones, Donnell Stanley, and Kylan Johnson. 

The main point of this discussion was simply, “What you put in your body, is what you get out of it.” This is true not only for professional athletes, but for overall good health. The rookies’ all agreed on the importance of sticking to a healthy routine and to never skip meals.

Which doesn’t mean that people can never indulge in some sweets.

Twan Russel asked the rookies about their cheat meals, here is what they had to say. Brandon Jones said burgers and a big breakfast, Kirk Merrit said “cookie cake,” Kylan Johnson went with Wing Stop, and Benito Jones went with fast food. 

Social Media 

The last major topic addressed was social media. The special guest speaking on this topic was Vince Pannozo, who works at the Athletes partnerships team at Instagram and Facebook. He addressed how athletes can grow their personal brand using different social media apps at the same time while being safe, smart, and creative. 

Among the rookies on this topic were Tua Tagovailoa, Curtis Weaver, Noah Igbinoghene, and Solomon Kindley. 

As athletes criticism is a major role on social media, here’s what the Dolphins rookies had to say on how they manage the noise on these apps: Tua Tagovailoa said it depends on much you’re on it and also the structure inside his own family. Solomon Kindley said like Tua how he was raised he didn’t pay attention to any of it and “if they’re not talking about you, you’re doing something wrong”. 

Onto the more specific parts of social media the rookies were asked what their favorite apps are: Tua Tagovailoa said Tiktok, Curtis Weaver said Twitter, Noah Igbi said Twitter as well, and Solomon Kindley said Tiktok or Instagram. 

Our rookies have not yet proved their athleticism at Hard Rock Stadium, but answering student questions, they have already demonstrated their dedication to our community.