Eric Reid Breaks Down His Decision to Protest and Kneel During the National Anthem

Former safety Eric Reid joined Behind the Mask and talked about the final years of his professional career after protesting.

Eric Reid was one of the most dynamic safeties in the NFL during his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers. Reid decided to back up Colin Kaepernick and kneel during the National Anthem. 

After the protest, Reid's career came to an abrupt end. He even filed a grievance with the NFL and former president Donald Trump, stating his protesting led to being singled out by the organization. Reid broke down his decision on Behind the Mask. 

"Yeah. So as you guys know, being in a sports environment in a locker room, it's always been ingrained and instilled in you to be a leader, to be a role model, to help the people around you, to lift people up. And so it was a very easy decision for me when that moment came to take a knee, because that's what I've always been taught to do, was just to speak up for other people."

Via Eric Reid, Behind the Mask

Reid draws a comparison between wanting to stand up for people as a football player and protesting widespread racial inequality. He chose to kneel because he felt it was the right decision to make, no matter the consequences. 

"I grew up well in college. Social media was just starting to boom, right? Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were just coming out of 2010. But now I'm in the league living my dream. I got drafted in 2013. By 2016, you just see all these police-involved killings, all these murders happening is in your face like it's just there all the time. And so the opportunity for me was just, hey, why don't I do what I've always done and speak up for somebody that can't speak for themselves? Right. And so, you know, I decided to take a knee and I knew that it was going to be controversial, but that was by design, right? To get people talking about what was happening.

via Eric Reid, Behing the Mask

Reid and Kaepernick definitely got people talking, so their protesting worked whether or not it was viewed as deeply controversial.