Eric Reid calls NFL’s use of Colin Kaepernick in video ‘diabolical’
NFL safety Eric Reid had some words for the NFL Monday after the league used Colin Kaepernick in a video.
The video featured singer Alicia Keys singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — known as the Black National Anthem — with images and pictures of NFL players protesting this summer and wearing “Black Lives Matter” clothing. The league used video of Kaepernick kneeling when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers. The video was released during the season opener Thursday.
Kaepernick began sitting, then kneeling during the National Anthem in 2016, played his last game on January 1, 2017, and has yet to be signed by a team.
“What the @NFL is doing is half-hearted at best,” Reid tweeted Monday, adding that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has gotten comfortable saying he “‘was wrong’ as if his mere acknowledgement reconciles his admitted wrongdoing.”
Reid said Goodell is using Kaepernick in the video to “legitimize their disingenuous PR while simultaneously perpetuating systemic oppression, that the video he’s using fights against, by continuing to rob Colin of his career.”
“It’s diabolical,” Reid said.
Reid’s comments come as the NFL and other sports leagues seem to be coming to terms with the racial strife in America. The NFL, which condemned Kaepernick’s protest at first, is now supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Goodell even told ESPN in June that he’d support and encourage a team to sign Kaepernick.
On Sunday, Kaepernick tweeted in support of Reid, who knelt with him and was released by the Carolina Panthers in March after playing two seasons with them.
“While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) for fighting for the Black community,” Kaepernick tweeted. “Eric set 2 franchise records last year, and is one of the best defensive players in the league.”
Kaepernick accused NFL team owners in 2017 of colluding to keep him from being signed. The NFL denied any collusion but in 2019, they reached a settlement with Kaepernick and Reid.
