Panthers' Eric Reid scraps with Malcolm Jenkins, other Eagles
PHILADELPHIA -- Things got heated between Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid and Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins before Sunday's NFC game at Lincoln Financial Field, and it spilled over into the contest.
It reportedly goes back to their feud that began last year, when Reid withdrew from the Players Coalition.
A Carolina assistant coach and official had to restrain Reid on the sideline when the Eagles were being introduced.
Reid ran onto the field during the coin toss and got into a heated exchanged with Jenkins, who was on the field for the toss, before former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith and several other Panthers restrained Reid.
Reid, while on defense, continued to look toward the Philadelphia sideline where Jenkins was standing on the first few series. Early in the first quarter, Reid came in on a blitz and threw quarterback Carson Wentz to the ground after Wentz gave the ball to a back. Eagles tight end Zach Ertz went after Reid and both players were called for personal fouls.
Reid, signed by Carolina three weeks ago when safety Da'Norris Searcy suffered a season-ending concussion, kneeled during the national anthem in his continued protest against social injustice.
Reid was the first player to kneel alongside Colin Kaepernick when both were with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
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Jenkins, the co-founder of the Players Coalition, initially joined in the protests. He stopped last season after the NFL announced it would donate $100 million to causes considered important to the coalition.
Reid claimed that Jenkins excluded Kaepernick from meetings in which players were asked whether they would stop protesting during the anthem if the NFL made a donation. Reid and several other players announced in November 2017 they were withdrawing from the coalition. Among Reid's concerns were where funds for the initiative came from.
"In the discussion that we had, Malcolm conveyed to us -- based on discussions that he had with the NFL -- that the money would come from funds that are already allocated to breast cancer awareness and Salute to Service," Reid said at the time. "So it would really be no skin off the owners' backs: They would just move the money from those programs to this one."
Jenkins took exception to Reid's claim then, telling ESPN that Reid was well aware of the "scope of the plan."
"The last time we had conversations with [Roger] Goodell and Troy Vincent, Michael Thomas and Eric Reid were on that call," Jenkins said. "They understood the proposal. What we didn't have was a conversation with players in the coalition based on some of the responses that we got from the league.
"We then talked about myself contacting Troy Vincent just to give them some updates on some of our feedback, which I did. That call did not have Mike or Eric on it. Everybody kind of agreed to that."
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