Malcolm Jenkins and Eric Reid Separated Ahead of Panthers-Eagles Game

Reid called Jenkins a "sell-out" after the heated exchange.

malcolm jenkins eric reid
Image via Getty/Mitchell Leff
malcolm jenkins eric reid

Eric Reid might be back in the league, but that doesn't mean that his grudges are all settled. The Carolina Panthers safety met up with Malcolm Jenkins for the first time since his return to the NFL and he didn't even wait for the game to start to voice his displeasure. The pair have a long-standing feud over the ways in which they choose to join in league-wide protests for social justice. And it's clearly still on, as Jenkins and Reid had to be separated by teammates prior to the coin toss at the start of the game.

 

Jenkins founded the Players Coalition, an organization dedicated to fighting for social justice initiatives. The group entered into a partnership earlier this year with the NFL to donate $90 million toward the cause. Reid split from the Players Coalition while the deal was still being discussed.

Reid clearly views the Players Coalition as a scab of sorts. He recently called the organization "an NFL-funded subversion group." Jenkins must have taken offense at that sort of talk, as he can be seen in the footage leaving the area of the coin toss to confront Reid. The Panthers safety was clearly still hot early in the game as he took Eagles QB Carson Wentz to the ground following a hand-off for a (questionable) roughing penalty. Tight End Zach Ertz came to Wentz's aid and got thrown to the ground by Reid for his trouble.

Following the game, Reid called Jenkins a "sell-out" and said that that was the cause of their on-field tiff.   

It's clear that Reid still feels passionately about his cause and the way he's suffered for it. He hasn't stopped kneeling before games or withdrawn his collusion complaint against the NFL since signing with Carolina.

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