Prior to yesterday's game between the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, Panthers safety Eric Reid had to be restrained from going after Eagles' safety Malcolm Jenkins as the team was being introduced. The two had exchanged words during pre-game warmups and the tension carried over during the game and into the post-game.
According to ESPN, Reid and Jenkins have been at odds since late last season, when Jenkins, who cofounded the Players Coalition, stopped kneeling during the national anthem after the NFL announced it would donate $100 million to causes considered important to the coalition.
After the game, Reid said Jenkins "capitalized on the situation," adding, "He co-opted with the movement that was started by Colin to get his organization started. It was cowardly. He sold us out.''
Reid signed with the Panthers last month after starting free safety Da'Norris Searcy was placed on injured reserve. At Redi's introductory press conference he described the Players Coalition as an "NFL-funded subversion group.''
"In the discussion that we had, Malcolm conveyed to us -- based on discussions that he had with the NFL -- that the money would come from funds that are already allocated to breast cancer awareness and Salute to Service," Reid said at the time, per ESPN. "So it would really be no skin off the owners' backs: They would just move the money from those programs to this one."
Check out Reid's comments in the videos embedded below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1054117706994196480
https://twitter.com/_/status/1054057734373605376
https://twitter.com/_/status/1054063153242427393
https://twitter.com/_/status/1054103268362764290