One of the biggest storylines of the 2017 NFL season was the controversy surrounding players kneeling during the anthem. As a result, a number of athletes have faced some serious backlash from fans, and allegedly even teams around the league.
Among the notable players still on the market is safety Eric Reid. According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Reid says he is no longer going to protest during the anthem:
“I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country to improve on,” Reid said. “I don’t think it’ll be in the form of protesting during the anthem. And I said ‘during’ because it’s crazy to me that the narrative got changed to we were protesting the anthem, because that wasn’t the case. But I think we’re going to take a different approach to how to be active.”
While Reid's decision may not solely be based on his current employment status, it has seemingly played a factor. He was one of the first to kneel alongside former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in an effort to raise awareness to the racial injustices in today's society. Kaepernick has since been allegedly blackballed from the NFL while Reid is still looking for his next opportunity.
There are rumors that teams may be able to get the former Pro Bowler at a bargain due to his willingness to speak out on such controversial topics. However, Reid has since scoffed at the notion of potentially being shortchanged for such reasons. Meanwhile, the 49ers have reportedly not ruled out the possibility of bringing the former first-round pick back.
Follow Us
Subscribe