Update (October 29, 2018): One week after the two players engaged in a verbal altercation on the football field, Eric Reid has explained his beef with Malcolm Jenkins in detail.
Following the Carolina Panthers' victory on Sunday, reporters asked Reid for more details about the encounter.
The footballer and activist said his problem with Jenkins stems from an agreement made to stop protesting during the national anthem.
According to CBS Sports, Reid said he, Jenkins and other members of players' group the Players' Coalition met with team owners one year ago. The meeting was held, Reid said, in part to make it clear players would continue to #TakeAKnee.
According to Reid, the meeting went like this: “We established within the first five minutes of that meeting that we weren't there to negotiate an end to the protest. After about an hour and a half of talking, [Texans owner] Bob McNair says: 'I think the elephant of the room is this protesting.' [Bills and Sabres owner] Terry Pegula says, 'Yeah, I've already lost two sponsors for [the Sabres]. We need to put a Band-Aid on this, and we need a Black figurehead to do it' … [Eagles owner Jeff Lurie] says, 'We can do more for the Black community than you could ever imagine with our resources.' Bob McNair then says, 'Yeah, just make sure you tell your comrades to stop this protesting business.'”
Reid said the meeting ended with the players reiterating their plans to continue to protest, and Jenkins reached a deal with the owners without him.
“Malcolm called me on the phone and asked if the NFL made a donation to the player's coalition, would that be enough for me to stop protesting. He said that they were willing to do $5 million, and I told him, 'No' … He then asked me, 'Well how much would it take?' So I ended that conversation, I reported back to other players what he said to me, and at that point, we removed ourselves from the player's coalition. That weekend he stopped protesting. He said that it was time for everyone to stop protesting. He didn't protest the rest of the year.”
Original: A feud between Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid and Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins made it onto the gridiron on Sunday.
Reid stormed onto the field during the pregame coin toss and charged at Jenkins. He had to be physically restrained by other players and officials as Jenkins looked on, according to ESPN.
The two NFL players have been at odds for some time about how to handle on-field protests during the national anthem. Reid was one of the first players to kneel with Colin Kaepernick in 2016 and, like Kaep, has an open collusion case against the NFL. Reid has continued to kneel in the 2018-19 season after being signed to the Panthers.
Jenkins once protested before games but discontinued the practice after he took part in negotiations with the NFL as leader of the Players’ Coalition. The league agreed to donate $100 million to the players’ preferred charities. Reid left the coalition after the deal.
Following Sunday’s game, Reid called Jenkins a “sellout” and explained his grievance, reports Sporting News.
"I believe there’s a lot of players who have stepped up for Colin," Reid said. "I believe Malcolm capitalized on the situation — he co-opted the movement that was started by Colin to get his organization funded. It’s cowardly. He sold us out."
Kaepernick supported Reid’s efforts on Twitter:
Eric Reid!!! Enough said!!! @E_Reid35
#ImWithReid— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) October 21, 2018
Jenkins was more diplomatic.
“I would never get up here and say anything bad about somebody who I know whose intentions were real about helping the community, especially another Black man. So, I'm going to leave it at that,” the Eagle said. "I respect him, I'm glad he has a job, I'm glad he's back in the league, and I'll leave it like that."
Now, check these out:
Amy Schumer Calls Out White NFL Players For Not Protesting Alongside Their Black Teammates
