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When a controversial pre-game argument between Eric Reid, Carolina Panthers 'security, and Malcolm Jenkins, of the Philadelphia Eagles' security, unfolded Sunday, I sighed and shook the head.
I did the same hours later, but with more vehemence, when Reid called Jenkins "sold-out" and "neo-colonialist" after the match. I did not do it out of anger or frustration. Instead, he was rooted in sadness and restlessness, and I would bet that many African American NFL players – many of whom must feel stuck in the midst of two parents at war – share this feeling .
Now, Reid's frustration is no longer a secret. He feels contempt for Jenkins and the other members of the Coalition of Players for their role in negotiating an $ 89 million gift from the NFL team owners for causes of social justice. Some perceived it as a kind of bribe to interrupt the powerful (but controversial) protests of the players during the pre-game national anthem, which drew attention to the causes of social injustice and police brutality.
The tough feelings sparked by the coalition of players sparked last week's clash between Eric Carolina of Carolina and Malcolm Jenkins of Philadelphia. (Getty Images)
Reid is not the only one feeling that. When he left the coalition last November, a handful of other notable players also did, pointing out that it all seemed like a win.
A logical person can at least understand why Reid is frustrated, though by far, to call Jenkins – who cares about his people and supports him regularly – a "soldier" and a "neo-colonialist" seems utterly unproductive. and outright unfair, at worst. Regardless of this, it should be noted that Reid and Colin Kaepernick, his former teammate with the San Francisco 49ers, are close and that, for him, Kaepernick's unemployment in the NFL was tied to the protests. That's right, since all observers can see that Kaepernick is better than some NFL quarterbacks, not to mention backups. That's why Kaepernick filed a grievance of collusion against the league.
Yet when it became clear late last year that the coalition leaders of players (including Jenkins) were willing to accept the offer of the owners without leveraging their dominant position to defend Kaepernick – the man who initiated the movement as a whole place – and find him a job, it is easy to see how this could give the impression of betrayal towards Reid, a proud man, attached to values.
A good argument is that Jenkins and the coalition made the right decision by accepting the owners' offer. Money is talking in the US, it will always, and what started as a seated man in protest before a football game was suddenly used to give 89 million dollars of cold money and tough greedy owners of the NFL. It's not an exploit. The same multi-billion dollar league strikes its employees and support staff in almost every city. The NFL is a business and operates this way. Never forget that.
Yet $ 89 million was suddenly allocated to the coalition, which would be allocated over the next seven years to causes that would surely help a considerable number of disadvantaged people for whom the group was taking a stand. The question was: was Kaepernick's search for a job – which he made much more difficult by engaging in a massive collusion against the entire league last October – more important than the greatest good? The Coalition of Players said no – and a reasonable person would understand why.
After all, apart from Kaepernick's vaguely stated goal of ending "systematic oppression of blacks and browns," what would be the end of the game if players refused the owners' offer and asked Kaepernick to be signed, which was never going to happen since he filed this grievance? It was a question of convenience against idealism, and for the black players stuck in the middle, it's a no-go choice as Jenkins and Reid scored good points.
And now, almost a year later, the tensions have not faded between Reid and Jenkins, and it's sad, because there are two strong black men, both socially conscious and aware of their platform, natural alphas with good intentions. They have done a concrete job of helping the less fortunate and want the same thing, in a global way – a better and more just country for their citizens – but they do not agree on how to achieve it. And for this reason, they have been positioned as de facto enemies.
And what is really a shame is that it is reasonable to assume that this is what the owners of the team wanted. Do not believe it? Find out what an unnamed NFL owner told Howard Bryant, ESPN, in his summary of the situation in January.
"The players had a real advantage," the owner told ESPN. "But we knew we could sit and watch them implode."
Repugnant. But that owner was right, and all the billionaires had to do was pull out the oldest ploy of the sharing book, which is to throw money at the problem and let the enemy fight to stay loyal and secure. approaching. Instead of continuing to criticize the team owners for their new anthem policy, which has generated so much backlash this summer, they have been forced to suspend it instead of a better alternative. What are we talking about now? The fracture of the coalition of players and the tension between key characters in the protests of the anthem.
Josh Norman of Washington defended Malcolm Jenkins of Philadelphia on Thursday. (Getty Images)
To Jenkins' credit, he tried to spread all this by wisely refusing to talk about Reid's hurt. But Washington cornerback Josh Norman, who is also a member of the coalition, once again fanned the flames of disdain when he came to Jenkins' defense on Thursday, calling Reid's comments a "slap in the face." "
And as soon as I read about Norman's comments, I immediately frowned and shaking my head once again, overcome by the same feeling of sadness and procrastination as Sunday. One moment, I know where Reid is coming from. The next moment, I'm with Jenkins. It's a bad place to be because with so much fighting left to be conducted in the NFL – especially on the issue of protests, where a solution between the owners and the players has not yet formally agreed – the players blacks can not afford to fight each other; in this case they must be united against the league and its property.
Remember, property has not yet responded for Kaepernick to be unemployed. It is the property that was your deafener enough to revive this anthem debate by adopting a stupid, widely defeated rule that took everyone – even the players – by surprise. It is the property that, instead of supporting their players in their attempt to draw attention to the causes worthy of social injustice and police brutality at the outset, decided to throw the money away. money to the "problem" and open the door to the player's infighting. But most importantly, it is also the property that will likely attempt to seek a write resolution to the conduct of the anthem, just as the NBA did almost 20 years ago, when the agreement of collective bargaining is in 2021.
Although choosing between Jenkins and Reid is almost impossible for even the most thoughtful African Americans in and around the game, this is clear for now: if the players involved want to maximize the visibility of their two causes to shed light on the atrocities of social injustice and police brutality, it would be helpful – in the name of unity – so that everyone could move in the same direction, at least publicly. And fast.
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