Outside Super Bowl, activists protest F1 racing and clash with anti-circumcision group
As much as ESPN anchors may get it wrong, there is no doubt that Miami Gardens — not Miami or South Beach — is home to Super Bowl 54.
The city is also home to, well, homeowners.
And despite what elected officials may say about big sporting events bringing economic benefits to local communities, some residents of Miami Gardens pushed back against that notion on Super Bowl Sunday, gathering outside Hard Rock Stadium to protest the Miami Dolphins’ plan to bring Formula 1 racing within earshot of their living rooms.
County commissioners will vote Tuesday on anti-F1 legislation sponsored by Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who is critical of the plan. The Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix race is scheduled to arrive at Hard Rock in May 2021 and return each year.
The hypnotic rhythms of a community percussion band added backing to the shouts and chants coming from Jordan and a few dozen protesters at the corner of Northwest 27th Avenue and 199th Street.
Dolphins owner “Steve Ross doesn’t seem to care about this community,” Jordan said. “They’re not welcome to race in our community.”
She was joined by former County Commissioner Betty Ferguson.
A revised course rendering announced by the Dolphins last month drops Northwest 199th Street from the planned race layout, which means the event will not need to close public roads for the race, a key point of contention in the debate.
But protesters argue the F1 race will still bring extra pollution and loud noise.
Bobby Wooden, a 74-year-old Miami Gardens resident, said he was exercising his right to peacefully assemble, but he doesn’t feel the county cares about his opinions.
“This is a bedroom community,” he said. “We shouldn’t be subject to all that loud noise.”
The intersection in front of Hard Rock Stadium was the site of constant activity Sunday, as ticket scalpers, protesters and fans converged. Miami-Dade Police’s Rapid Deployment Force intervened when the anti-Formula 1 group clashed with the Blood Stained Men, a national nonprofit that lobbies for an end to circumcision.
Jordan, who brazenly stood in front of the group’s banner, accused the protesters of being paid off by Ross to disrupt their rally.
When police came, she implied Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was somehow behind it.
“Go tell Ross to pay you a little bit more,” she told a protester, who stained the crotch of his pants red.
A spokesperson for the Dolphins responded to Jordan’s claim: “We had nothing to do with this and any suggestion to the contrary is ludicrous.”
The anti-F1 protesters said they gather at the same spot every Sunday, and that their message deserved priority over out-of-town groups trying to capitalize on the traffic from the Super Bowl.
One resident held a sign calling the circumcision protest a “distraction.”
Others just minded their business, waved to passing cars and danced to the beat of drummers, some donning face masks to signify the health concerns of hosting F1 near schools and single-family homes.
“We really believe it’s environmental racism,” former Commissioner Ferguson said. “It’s totally unacceptable.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 4:07 PM.
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