Panthers safety Eric Reid recently noted how unhappy he is that rapper Jay-Z threw national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick under the bus for making a social justice/entertainment deal with the NFL. However, Reid offered Jay-Z a way to prove he is not a sellout: Hire Kaepernick once he becomes an NFL owner.
Reid, who was one of the first players in 2016 to join Kaepernick in taking a knee during the national anthem, was very critical of Jay-Z for making a deal with the NFL even as the rapper claimed to support Colin Kaepernick’s NFL career. Indeed, Jay-Z loudly turned down an offer from the league to perform at last year’s Super Bowl because of how he claimed Kaepernick was being treated. But now, all of a sudden, Jay-Z and his Roc Nation entertainment company are making big-dollar deals together.
“This isn’t somebody who just came out of left field and decided to make a partnership with the NFL,” Reid said, according to Sporting News.
“This is somebody who’s spoken on the phone with Colin, has met with Colin, has presented awards to Colin, or his wife (Beyonce) has. Has been outspoken in support of Colin. Again, talking against the treatment that the NFL has shown towards Colin,” Reid added.
“Now he’s made a partnership with the NFL,” the Carolina Panthers player scoffed, “apparently is going to be a part-owner of a team in the NFL and is trying to smooth it over with the black community by wrapping it in social justice. It ain’t cool.”
Reid was equally dismissive of news that Jay-Z was angling to become an NFL owner. “More of the same,” Reid said. “Jay-Z claims to be a supporter of Colin. Wore his jersey. Told people not to perform at the Super Bowl. And now he’s gonna be a part-owner.”
Eric Reid on whether he thinks Jay Z is a sellout pic.twitter.com/JXDw5Dzo5H
— Tadd Haislop (@TaddHaislop) August 17, 2019
But Reid had a way for Jay-Z to prove his loyalty to both the movement and Kaepernick. Once he becomes an owner, Reid said, he could immediately hire the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
“If Jay-Z is going to be an owner, is Colin going to be signed the day he becomes an owner of a team? We’ll see. I think he has a very small window with an ownership position to make a move to get Colin on whatever team he’s on. Very small window,” Reid replied.
“But if he’s part-owner, that means he has a say, so we’ll see if he uses that position to get Colin,” Reid added.
Reid had more criticism for the rapper, too. At one point, Reid said, “when has Jay-Z ever taken a knee?”
The player was also not happy that Jay-Z said we are “past kneeling” and that social justice is not about someone’s job.
“Yes he’s done a lot of great work; a lot of great social justice work. But for you to get paid to go into an NFL press conference to say that we’re past kneeling? Again, asinine,” Reid said. “He got paid to take the bullets that he’s taking now. Because we’re not having it.”
Ultimately, Reid accused the league of hiding behind “blackface” to paper over its national anthem protest problem.
“So, the NFL is hiding behind this blackface, right? They get to say, ‘Look, we care about social justice. We care about the black community because we’re with Jay-Z,'” Reid insisted.
“Jay-Z is doing the work for them,” Reid accused.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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