Dolphins fine, suspend Don Jones for comments following Michael Sam tweets

The Miami Dolphins announced this evening that second-year safety Don Jones has been fined an undisclosed amount for his tweets following the selection of linebacker Michael Sam by the St. Louis Rams.  After ESPN showed Sam kiss his boyfriend in celebration of the selection, Jones tweeted "omg."  When asked by a follower if that tweet was in reference to Sam, Jones added "horrible."

Jones has also been suspended from all team activities until he completes "education training for his recent comments."

In a statement released with the announcement of Jones' fine and suspension, Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin said,  “We were disappointed to read Don’s tweets during the NFL Draft. They were inappropriate and unacceptable, and we regret the negative impact these comments had on such an important weekend for the NFL. We met with Don today about respect, discrimination and judgment. These comments are not consistent with the values and standards of our program. We will continue to emphasize and educate our players that these statements will not be tolerated.”

In the same press release, Jones stated, “I want to apologize to Michael Sam for the inappropriate comments that I made last night on social media. I take full responsibility for them and I regret that these tweets took away from his draft moment. I remember last year when I was drafted in the seventh round and all of the emotions and happiness I felt when I received the call that gave me an opportunity to play for an NFL team and I wish him all the best in his NFL career. I sincerely apologize to Mr. Ross, my teammates, coaches, staff and fans for these tweets. I am committed to represent the values of the Miami Dolphins organization and appreciate the opportunity I have been given to do so going forward.”

The Dolphins are currently in the middle of their offseason workout program.  They reached the on-field workouts with coaches phase of the program on May 5.  Here's the full schedule, including OTAs and minicamp:

FIrst day of Phase 1 (Strength workouts): April 21

First day of Phase 2 (On-field with coaches): May 5

Rookie minicamp: May 23-25

First day of Phase 3 (OTAs and Minicamp): May 26
OTA 1: May 27-28, 30
OTA 2: June 2-3, 5
OTA 3: June 9-12
Mandatory minicamp: June 17-19