Just a few days ago, it was revealed that Jay Z had signed an "entertainment and social justice" partnership with the NFL that would have both sides work to fix some of the issues within the league when it comes to the treatment of players. Many people rushed to criticize Jay Z as they felt as though he was choosing the side of the oppressor as opposed to the side of those fighting for equality. Jay Z has proclaimed his support for Colin Kaepernick in the past and with Kap nowhere to be found in this deal, some have taken issue. One of the people who had some hard words for Hov was Caroline Panthers safety Eric Reid, who is clearly not a fan of the whole thing.
Stephen A. Smith hopped on ESPN's First Take today where he talked about Reid criticism of Jay Z and how he felt about it all. As you can see from the clip below, Smith feels as though the criticism is a bit unfair.
Essentially, Smith feels as though Kaepernick's goal was to get the league to address his concerns and by partnering with Jay Z, they would be doing just that. Smith thinks players like Kap and Reid should actually embrace the deal instead of being so quick to be negative about it.
It's certainly a complicated issue that seems to be quite polarizing within the NFL these days. Ever since Kaepernick was essentially blackballed for kneeling during the anthem, there has been an increased sensitivity to the way the league handles issues of social justice.