Eric Reid Rips NFL's 'Disingenuous' Social Justice Partnership With Jay-Z, Roc Nation

Reid said the partnership was the league "acting like they care about people of color."

Panthers safety Eric Reid ripped the NFL's new agreement with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, calling the partnership "disingenuous" given the "collective blackballing" of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

After sharing a series of tweets Tuesday, Reid continued his take down Wednesday, taking issue with Jay-Z's defense of partnering with the NFL.

These aren’t mutually exclusive. They can both happen at the same time! It looks like your goal was to make millions and millions of dollars by assisting the NFL in burying Colin’s career. https://t.co/LFBZpbj2tw

— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) August 15, 2019

Reid, who played with Kaepernick in San Francisco, said the agreement was a way for the league to "act like they care about people of color."

The NFL announced the formation of the "entertainment and social justice partnership" with Jay-Z's group on Tuesday. The deal makes Roc Nation co-producers of the Super Bowl halftime show and gives the group the power to choose entertainers to perform in NFL content throughout the season, as well as the opportunity to work with the league's current social justice campaigns, among other things.

Reid orginally responded to a statement posted on Twitter by former ESPN personality Jemele Hill, confirming that Kaepernick—who last played in 2016—did not play a role in the league's new partnership.

He is not https://t.co/jIRVCatNLt

— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) August 14, 2019

A fan then commented that given Reid's status as an active NFL player, it seemed "kinda weird" to him for him to start playing again despite his ongoing grievances against the league which sparked a passionate response from the current Carolina safety.

"You & some others seem to misunderstand that we had no beef with the NFL until they started perpetuating the systemic oppression that we are fighting by blackballing Colin and then me," Reid wrote. "Nah I won’t quit playing but I will be a royal pain in the NFL’s a** for acting like they care about people of color by forming numerous disingenuous partnerships to address social injustice while collectively blackballing Colin, the person who brought oppression and social injustice to the forefront of the NFL platform."

You & some others seem to misunderstand that we had no beef with the NFL until they started perpetuating the systemic oppression that we are fighting by blackballing Colin and then me. Nah I won’t quit playing but I will be a royal pain in the NFL’s a** for acting like they care https://t.co/bL6SMUkrQP

— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) August 14, 2019

Reid announced earlier this summer that he plans to continue to kneel during the playing of the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality, as he has done over the past few seasons. Kaepernick started demonstrating during the anthem during the 2016 preseason, and Reid—then his teammate—soon joined him. 

The two later sued the NFL, alleging that teams colluded in not signing them because of their protest. The case was settled earlier this year. While Reid has continued his NFL career with the Panthers, Kaepernick remains unsigned.

Jay-Z reportedly turned down the opportunity to perform at Super Bowl LI in 2018. At a concert around the same time, Jay-Z dedicated a song to Kaepernick and has been seen wearing Kaepernick jerseys. The rapper has been a vocal supporter of the free-agent quarterback since he began kneeling and has been the subject of considerable backlash on social media following the announcement of Roc Nation's partnership with the same league he criticized just one year ago.