- The NFL played a video about social justice that showed Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
- Kaepernick and Reid both criticized the video on Twitter, calling the league's stance "half-hearted" and "diabolical."
- Kaepernick and Reid both filed collusion grievances against the NFL that were settled in 2019. Both are currently unsigned.
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Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, who both started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality in 2016, are criticizing the NFL's "half-hearted" messages of social justice.
During Week 1 of the NFL season, the league played a video in each stadium promoting social justice and racial equality, according to ESPN. The video included an image of Kaepernick and Reid kneeling during the national anthem with the San Francisco 49ers four years ago.
Kaepernick has gone unsigned in the NFL since beginning the anthem protest. Reid played two years with the Carolina Panthers, but was released this year and is also unsigned.
"While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) for fighting for the Black community," Kaepernick tweeted on Sunday. "Eric set 2 franchise records last year, and is one of the best defensive players in the league."
Reid called the NFL's gesture "diabolical" in a tweet on Monday.
"What the @NFL is doing is half-hearted at best. @nflcommish has gotten comfortable saying he 'was wrong' as if his mere acknowledgment reconciles his admitted wrongdoing," Reid tweeted. "He hasn't even called Colin to apologize, let alone reconcile, proving this is only PR for the current business climate. As such, Roger Goodell uses video of Colin courageously kneeling to legitimize their disingenuous PR while simultaneously perpetuating systemic oppression, that the video he's using fights against, by continuing to rob Colin of his career. It's diabolical."
In June, Goodell apologized for the NFL's previous stance on player protests, which included a rule that prevented players from kneeling during the national anthem.
Goodell said in August that he wished he had "listened earlier" to Kaepernick's message. He said he would welcome a team to sign Kaepernick.
During Week 1 of the 2020 season, seven teams stayed in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem, while many other players kneeled.
The NFL fields also include messages of racial equality this season, and players can put messages on their helmets as well.
Kaepernick and Reid both filed collusion grievances against the NFL alleging team owners colluded in not signing them. They settled for an undisclosed amount in 2019.
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