Carolina Panthers player Eric Reid will continue to kneel through the national anthem during this year’s football season.
Reid shared his plans during an interview with The Charlotte Observer.
“If a day comes that I feel like we’ve addressed those issues, and our people aren’t being discriminated against or being killed over traffic violations, then I’ll decide it’s time to stop protesting,” he said. “I haven’t seen that happen.”
Reid began protesting with former San Francisco 49ers teammate Colin Kaepernick in 2016. He signed with the Panthers in September 2018, while he was still in a legal battle with the NFL over accusations of collusion. Reid and Kaep settled with the league for an undisclosed amount in February. Unfortunately, Reid believes the country has regressed since he began taking a knee.
“It feels like we’re going backwards,” the 27-year-old said. “You’d like to think we’re past certain things, the way we treat people. I thought we were at a time where you love your neighbor as yourself. But as I’ve studied history — it hasn’t repeated itself necessarily, but it’s dressed a little different and is acting the same.”
Reid also shared he’s been in South Africa, his wife’s homeland, for his summer vacation. The visit had a profound effect on him.
“I’ve been the past couple of years. To me, it’s very powerful. Obviously I descend from Africa …. (I’ve done) my ancestry and know which parts of Africa I descend from,” he said.
The stay allowed him to connect with the motherland and ancestors. He believes this connection is something Black Americans have missed.
“I compare it to my brother’s wife, who is Hispanic. She was born in America but her parents are from Honduras. She speaks Spanish. She knows the culture,” Reid continued.
“But most Black people, we were robbed of that. We don’t know our heritage. We don’t know what we descend from. We don’t speak a native language. We don’t know which part of the country we come from a lot of times. I don’t know past my great-grandfather — that’s lost. And we’ll never get it back. So being in Africa is powerful.”
The father of two hasn’t lost hope. Instead, Reid wants Black Americans to continue speaking out against social injustice.
“We’ve got to keep fighting,” he said. “Got to keep agitating. Got to keep making sure that we put pressure on the people who make the laws, and the decisions, in this country.”
Anti-Blackness isn’t the only injustice Reid has addressed. Last Monday, he called out his alma mater, Louisiana State University, for renovating their locker rooms while their players still play for free. The new digs cost $28 million, according to Bleacher Report.
“The locker room when I was at LSU 7 years ago was better than the current one in Carolina. But there’s no money to compensate these young men for the revenue they bring to the school,” he wrote in a tweet.
He said what he said.