By MIKE PATTON | Nashville Voice
NFL safeties Eric Reid and Malcolm Jenkins were once on the same team fighting for social change in the NFL. Then, over the course of some events, we got to what we saw when the Carolina Panthers went to Philadelphia to face the Eagles.
Reid came onto the field during the coin toss and was not a happy camper. Jenkins came towards him as well, but it was evident Reid was irate by the intensity in his eyes.
After the game and also after the Panthers played the Ravens this past weekend, Reid went into reasons why he had such a strong reaction to Jenkins and it all went back to the talks those two used to have.
Both were a part of the Players Coalition in the NFL at one point in time but Eric Reid left. He divulged the reason he left was that he was asked about how much money it would take for him to stop protesting.
Reid also mentioned he felt Jenkins was a sellout because he took money from the NFL (directly to his own organization at that) and helped usher in the failed attempted NFL anthem policy to start the 2018 NFL football season in.
Jenkins, for his part, failed to respond to Reid’s claims and did not call any names at all. Instead, he took the high road and left the conversation alone.
Reid would also go into talk about Neo-colonialism when it relates to Jenkins as well. Needless to say, some aren’t pleased with Reid speaking on Jenkins in such a public forum. The feeling of some is Reid should have talked privately with Jenkins about his feelings towards him and the dealings both had in the past.
With Reid, though, people have to realize that he doesn’t view Jenkins as his ally anymore, but more as an opportunist based on his comments.
Although both are fighting for social justice, it seems like one has a few other things going on besides the fight for reforming our society.
Jenkins is one of the faces of the fight for social justice, but it seems like he wanted to be the reason behind the movement. Why else would he take the money and put it all into his organization if he wasn’t trying to be the face of the movement in terms of NFL players?
He may have been trying to do some good with the money, but it sounds like he was trying to gather the media spotlight when it comes to the fight for social change.
Whether folks want to agree with Reid’s methods for telling his truth or not, the fact remains that Jenkins has not disputed anything he has said and that says something.
Jenkins, like many others, distanced himself from Kaepernick, but he also profited from a movement Kaepernick started. At this point, he has some questions to answer about some things because Reid laid out a detailed account of how everything went.
Both are trying to make a change and have made some change; in the end, they are both doing so in different ways and with different agendas. Hopefully, they will continue to try to make impacts, but it is clear Reid and Jenkins will not be on the same page anytime soon.
The only way that happens is if Jenkins takes the initiative to start a dialogue with Reid because it seems like he is the one who started this rift between the two.
