Carolina Panthers Player Celebrates Colin Kaepernick with Cleats
Sticking his finger in the National Football League’s eye, Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid wore cleats celebrating anti-American protest inventor Colin Kaepernick during Monday’s game against New Orleans Saints.
Reid is one of the last NFL players still protesting during the national anthem and was one of the first to take up Kaepernick’s protests back in 2016.
On Monday, Reid wore cleats celebrating Colin Kaepernick’s protests as well as his social justice programs.
Reid was taking advantage of one of the new social justice policies the NFL made with players which allows them to choose a cause for which to advocate. Reid chose to honor his former 49ers teammate, Colin Kaepernick, according to Yahoo! sports.
My cleats for tonight. Much thanks and appreciation to the artist @2cent_bmike. Here’s his take on the inspiration behind his design, “It’s a tribute to the history of protest , centered around the quote “if not us , who? If not now, when? “ meaning we all benefit and stand on… pic.twitter.com/x9PNkmwTK0
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) December 17, 2018
According to Breitbart Sports:
Reid employed the skills of activist and artist Brandon Odums to design the cleats which Reid wore on Monday. The design is meant as a “tribute to the history of protest” while also flogging Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp.”
Advertisement - story continues belowThe artwork shows protestors holding signs reading “I know my rights” and “If not us, who? If not now, when?”
It is striking that Reid chose to highlight Kaepernick, especially since the former San Francisco 49er quarterback is suing the league:
Kaepernick turned free agent at the end of the 2016 season after spending the year protesting against the country at every game but found no team interested in signing him either in 2017 or since. Consequently, he filed a “collusion” grievance against the NFL claiming that the coaches, owners, and league officials “colluded” to keep him from pursuing his NFL career.
This was definitely an example of a current player sticking his finger in the league’s eye by celebrating a player who is suing the league for mistreatment.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
