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Ex-LSU Safety Eric Reid Explains Why He Didn't Stand For National Anthem

by Staff Reporter

September 2, 2016148 Comments

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Former LSU and current San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid explained why he chose to take a knee, along with quarterback Colin Kaepernick, during the National Anthem on Thursday night.

Here is what he said. Per ProFootballTalk.com:

quote:
“He is taking advantage of the platform that he’s given to bring awareness to a worthy cause,” Reid said. “What’s more American than that?”

This time, Kaepernick didn’t retreat to the bench, but took a knee near the sideline, and Reid took a knee next to him.

“It’s something that’s been on my mind all week and after talking to Colin many times, I talked to him today before the game,” Reid said. “People thought it was disrespectful for him to sit down. He was able to decide, ‘What if we took a knee instead of sitting?’

“And that came off as more respectful to the country, to the anthem, to the military. And I agree with that. It shows that he hears that people were hurt by him sitting, but he still believes in the cause that he wants to bring awareness to. So he changed his physical position from sitting down to take a knee to still show respect.”

“I don’t personally feel oppressed, but there are things that have happened in this country that have touched very close to home for me — the situation in Louisiana,” Reid said. “I grew up around that. But this is a responsibility that he feels and a responsibility that I feel as well. It’s bigger than football.”

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148 Comments

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TaderSalad•113 months

A black man blessed with a lucrative career and free education telling a lower tiered middle class family that this nation isnt great. The hypocrisy is sickening.

ssgtiger•113 months

So you think America is absolutely perfect as is?

DBest•113 months

Success doesn't make one blind to the surroundings. You need to reconsider your understanding of hypocrisy.

Vernonbrew22•113 months

Brandon Harris feels oppressed by lesticles

DeltaDoc•113 months

He almost had me until he mentioned the situation in Baton Rouge (I feel certain he is not talking about three cops getting killed because of false rhetoric)...he is referring to a convicted felon, armed with a pistol, resisting cops and attempting to get his gun being killed by cops...the only injustice in that scenario was towards the cops, not from them. Lost all respect for Reid.

ColeLSU•113 months

its baffling. I cant wrap my mind around how so many people in this country are that ignorant

Mansa Musa•113 months

Re-tard#3

High C•113 months

Mansa, you calling people re-tards is oppressing me. I will now go shite on the flag to demonstrate your oppression's existence. Makes sense, right?

Show 1 last reply in this conversation

Ragin' Tiger•113 months

I am so disappointed in Eric Reid.

ssgtiger•113 months

Why?

Vernonbrew22•113 months

He is a proud man to the proud few. The rest are either casing your homes or frying up something crappy. There are a lot of decent Afro Americanos but the ones that side with this are just deceitful twits.

eugene1928LSU•113 months

Whats their point. Do the "oppressed" just want to be able to run lawless without consequences. They are in the wrong country. Have police been perfect? No. But you can't let a very,very small percent ruin the 99% who you want to make that call in a time of need. I back the blue and the Red White and Blue. Disappointed in Eric.

DBest•113 months

Again, this has nothing to do with sides as you have taken one. They want to see America...AMERICA do better. There are many issues that we as a country need to improve upon. You're disappointed because he is addressing one??? What have you done to make America better???I will wait....

LSUwag•113 months

I suggest that he does a few ride alongs with law enforcement. Maybe he will realize that this is a two way street.

DBest•113 months

He called for non violence. That is a two way street!

BTRDD•113 months

Give up football and join law enforcement if you feel so strongly about mistreatment of blacks by the system.

LSUgrad08112•113 months

Gotta wonder how heroes like Glen Coffee and Pat Tillman feel about this bullshite. As you said, the best and most direct way to immediately personally disrupt the injustices in the world is to put down your cleats, pick up a gun, and go fight some bad guys.

PanhandleTigah•113 months

This I can agree with. There was a civil rights leader who challenged the cops on shooting first and asking questions later, so he was put through a drill. He shot an unarmed man and was killed by an armed one. It totally changed his perspective on the situation and how dangerous the job truly is. I'm not saying there aren't bad cops. Every career has bad people in them. But, before you pass judgment on many walk a block in their shoes. Oakland isn't that far away; go there after dark and see what these men and women face.

Jack Mehoff•113 months

Here's my free speech: Eric Reid has sided with cop killers. He's on the side of those who have made every wrong decision a person can make in their lives. Alton Sterling brandished the pistol he was illegally carrying at a citizen. That's why the police were there. Then, the upstanding citizen Sterling decided to fight with the officers who HAD to pat him down for everyone's safety. All Sterling had to do was what all reasonable people do. Stop being a criminal and a thug. Sterling's actions dictated the officers' reactions. Same thing with the "Gentle Giant" Michael "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" Brown. Screw Eric Reid.

ssgtiger•113 months

He sided with cop killers? Thats a bit of a reach.

DBest•113 months

The store owner spoke to police and advised that he had seen the entity altercation and at no point was a gun brought out. Know the facts. Also, I am certain that Eric couldn't cares less about how you feel. You need to recognize that your disconnect to their stance is because you don't see the world that they see...imagine a world outside of your own. It's ignorant to believe that I as one person understand the lives of all. I haven't lived in violence not one day of my life so I don't understand what many claim to go through but I am wise enough to realize that outside of my world there are people who do. Eric is not siding with anything other than a need for lives to be preserved...all lives. That said, God Bless you and may you consider your shortcomings.

ALeauxHA•113 months

DBest...I commend you for trying to walk the mile in the other mans shoes. However, you may not have lived in violence but you still have a disconnect of a different sort. Sterling was resisting arrest. Sterling has a gun in his pants. Two officers were fighting with him on the ground. Each officer only had one free hand each to fight with him since they had to hold their gun with the other.---do you deny these facts? If you are one of these officers and one of Sterlings hands gets free and it appears that he is reaching for his pants, do you shoot? Would you shoot? Whose fault is it in the end?

Show 2 more replies in this conversation

Blind Zebras•113 months

So oppressed....sorry the career criminal that wouldn't listen to the authorities got shot. When a cop say put your hands up, put them up. And more important, quit breaking the law. media only reports white on black issues....what about all the white people being killed or black on black...this is all raging bullshite and the result of an Obama led country. We all have the same opportunity and it's our choices that lead to our destiny; white black purple whatever..

Giantkiller•113 months

frick him. Hanger-on bitch.

Vernonbrew22•113 months

Yes indeed

blueboy•113 months

CK sucks and is on his way out, so he's using this for self-marketing. Plain and simple. Today's PR agents are the worst human beings in the world. Sex tapes. Advising people to act like clowns. You name it. Think Kris Jenner, but with less scruples. That's all this is. Cut his worthless arse FOR NOT BEING A GOOD QB, and forget him. He can whine all he likes.

Pianoman•113 months

Obama has set race relations back to the '60's. It's simply unbelievable that 8 years into his failed presidency where he's piled up more national debt than ALL other presidents before him COMBINED mainly due to the "Affordable(Bwahahahaha) Care Act, released more convicted felons in the past few weeks than the last 9 presidents COMBINED, some folks are still blaming George Bush????

VesperiaLSU•113 months

Come on Eric Reid, you should know better than that. Stop having yourself manipulated by the media.

ROPO•113 months

I don't think they are bad folks. I think they are misguided in what is appropriate in this instance. Nothing wrong with taking a stand against what you view as wrong. But this is disrespectful to a lot of people who have nothing to do with the wrong they are protesting. However, nuanced they may wish it to appear, they are protesting America. If Eric and Kaepernick truly both love America and want to bring about social change, they should rethink their method of protest so that the nuance in their position does not have to be explained.

GaTiger27•113 months

Sitting behind your team like Kaep is pretty cowardly and disgraceful. Taking a knee on the sideline is better than before, that at least displays a sort of reverence for the flag/nation/military while side by side with their teammates. That being said, it's still childish and there's a better way each can go about handling their shite.

airfernando•113 months

All this proves is that Reid is a follower and not a leader. If this issue really matters to him, he would have "taken a knee" much sooner. Black people need to get past their unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a greater disease that what they supposedly protest.

Vernonbrew22•113 months

We gave them the public schools and our old hoods and look where they are. This is his right and it is my right to,wish for a bolt to strike his transvestite lover. Nothing good ever came from Dutchtown with the exception of my maid

75503Tiger•113 months

Pat Tillman RIP A true NFL hero

DVinBR•113 months

Yes, let's shite on all of the people who fought for this country all because of an illusion of "oppression", go back to the 60s or earlier if you want to see oppression

oleheat•113 months

Or maybe take that Iranian vacation everyone dreams about....

sdc74•113 months

I bet people in the 60s said.. "go back to slavery if you want to see oppression"

TailgateTiger•113 months

There are more efficient ways to protest other than kneeling down during the National Anthem. Real douches never cease to amaze me.

ssgtiger•113 months

How is kneeling for the Anthem inefficient? Just curious. I don't see a problem with it.

TailgateTiger•113 months

These two are slapping the face of everyone that has fought and or died for this country. Has nothing to do with why he is bitter. A good comparison would be that I'm against killing babies while they are growing in their mother's womb, so I gonna start kneeling during the National Anthem...

oleheat•113 months

What they are doing breeds more animosity within a largely uninformed society towards the police. If you think that's going to help, you are sadly mistaken.

BayouBengal99•113 months

I don't get it?? Why was no one making a big deal out of blacks killing blacks and creating all these gangs and the environment these people including cops now have to live in?? Who fault is that? Start taking some damn responsibility of your own first then you will get others respect and attention until then this QB will just sit his way to the house!!! This isn't very smart go actually do something to make a change bc you not changing shite but your own bank account by doing this. Freakn dumb don't follow this idiot Eric!!!

Vernonbrew22•113 months

They, like CLM, will never rise above

lsuohiofan•113 months

Our current President and his rule for 8 years has put this country in turmoil. His lack of leadership only says that he wants the country to go down this path. Shame on him. There will be no good come from this path.

Mouche337•113 months

Your former president is why we're in this situation in the first place. Bush destroyed the infrastructure of this country for four years, then you re-elected him for another 4 years to fix it and he essentially crippled it. Obama was give a huge pile of crap with republicans who refused to support him even when he tried to fix what Bush destroyed. I fought in Iraq. The reason we were their, why my fellow brothers and sisters died, was for his selfish intentions. Trust me I know. Obama brought what was left of us home. Some of us will never again step foot on our native soil because of Bush. Shame on him!? Shame on you for letting your racist bias blind you from the big picture. Blacks aren't the only ones suffering. Your suffering and because it happened due to the selfishness of a White president, you except it with open arms and run toward it with reckless abandonment.

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