Kaepernick Ally Becomes First Panthers Player Ever To Kneel for Anthem
The first player to ever kneel alongside former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem, Eric Reid, has officially become the first Carolina Panthers player to ever protest the anthem.
Eric Reid (25) becomes first Panther player to ever kneel during national anthem. pic.twitter.com/gRPCwpz1cd
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) October 7, 2018
You can spot Reid’s No. 25 jersey near the middle of the photo above.
The Panthers, who are hosting the New York Giants for today’s game, had never had a player protest the anthem under the stewardship of former team owner Jerry Richardson. The former owner was forced to sell the team after being rocked last season by sexual harassment allegations. Richardson had been a very big supporter of standing for the national anthem.
New Panthers owner David Tepper, who purchased the Panthers in May for $2.2 billion, has been very vocal about letting his players protest during the anthem.
Tepper infamously called President Donald Trump’s criticism of anthem protests “the biggest pile of bull-dinky ever” according to the New York Post.
So it should come as little surprise that Panthers players feel more emboldened to protest the anthem under Tepper.
That being said, it was still a little surprising to see Reid brazenly protest during the national anthem so shortly after he said he would stop.
“I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active because I won’t. I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country and improve on the issues happening in this country,” Reid told reporters in March, according to the Guardian. “I don’t think it will be in the form of protesting during the anthem. I say during because it’s crazy that the narrative changed to we were protesting the anthem and that wasn’t the case. I think we’re going to take a different approach to how we’re going to be active,”
More recently, Reid claimed that he had been “considering other ways (to protest)” during his introductory press conference as a Panther.
Eric Reid on if he plans to continue to protest during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/ES7MCLq1PI
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) October 1, 2018
“I said that I would be considering other ways (to protest). And I’m still considering,” he said.
Reid has seemingly progressed from not wanting to kneel during the anthem, to considering other avenues of protest, to now kneeling again during the anthem.
Of note, like Kaepernick, Reid also has an ongoing collusion grievance against the NFL. Both Reid and Kaepernick believe their anthem protests have caused them to go unsigned as free agents.
Despite being signed by the Panthers, Reid has also said that he plans on continuing forward with his grievance.
Reid, 26, signed a 1-year, $1.14 million contract with the Panthers, according to Spotrac.
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