CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ What else would you expect, in sport that so emphasizes brotherhood and camaraderie, than for unequivocal support from one football player to another?
Really, from one person to another.
New Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, playing in his first game since signing with the team during its bye week, ultimately decided to continue his protest against social injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem Sunday. Reid was the first player to kneel alongside former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick when both played for the 49ers, an issue which drew significant attention when Carolina first signed him.
Only ... why did it?
Asked after Carolina's 33-31 win about Reid's decision to kneel, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton simply asked back: "How did he play?"
"I mean, that's all the things that I really care about," Newton went on to say. "We all are entitled to our own opinion, and as a man that he is, anything that he stands for, as a teammate, I'm going to stand with him too.
"We're all held to a high standard, and at this particular point, he understands he's on a team that has a lot of weapons, and he's one of those weapons. So for all I care, as long as he's out there not being a distraction _ I didn't see a distraction today _ he has value to this team, valuable points that he's standing for or kneeling for, and at the end of the day you've got to respect that."
So the face of the Panthers franchise is endorsing Reid as a player, a man, and a humanitarian. That shouldn't be surprising, given the way the rest of Carolina's locker room has also accepted Reid.
And examples abound. Defensive end Julius Peppers, who last season remained in the locker room during the anthem the week President Donald Trump called kneeling NFL players "sons of bitches," was the first player to embrace Reid postgame.
"I just wanted to give him a hug, offer some support to him, and let him know that he wasn't isolated out there," Peppers said. "Obviously he's a great player _ he adds that to our team. He also adds a sense of culture to the team, and we're embracing that, and we're going to support him in everything he chooses to do."
And as for Reid's thoughts on the whole matter?
"This morning, I found out the officer that killed Tamir Rice was re-hired," Reid said. "I feel like that's unacceptable. (Brett) Kavanaugh was voted into the Supreme Court _ that's unacceptable. I feel like our country is moving backward, and the only way to change that is to keep talking about it, to keep raising awareness. Keep doing what we're doing."
Reid said he spoke to teammates pregame about his protest, and also that he informed coach Ron Rivera that he would be continuing it.
And every time, the same response back: 'We support you, man. We're here for you.'
Some fans in attendance Sunday left the game when Reid took a knee, but Reid said the people who continue to misrepresent his protest _ those who claim he is disrespecting American troops, for example _ only do so because they have no other option to oppose his message.
"People who don't want things to change, people who want to maintain the status quo, this is the only thing they can do," Reid said. "They have to subvert, they have to distract, they have to redirect from what we're trying to accomplish, and the only way to do that is to try to alter the narrative.
"We have to stay strong, we have to stay diligent, to make sure that that narrative doesn't change. We, as a country, have fallen short. Four hundred years of this. 400 years. Emmett Till, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling _ the list goes on. It's unacceptable. And I can't close my eyes and go to sleep at night without feeling like I did something to try to make those things better."
Reid has made clear his reasons for protesting, but the one thing that wasn't clear Sunday was how he'd actually fit into this Panthers defense. Having not played a game since the end of the 2017 regular season, there were justifiable concerns about Reid's fitness or ability to comprehend the Panthers' playbook in such a short period.
The results Sunday were admittedly somewhat mixed. Reid recorded three tackles, including one shoestring takedown of star Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. that might have saved a touchdown, but his conditioning still has a ways to go. Rivera said he thought Reid started getting "heavy-legged" in the first half, something Reid agreed with postgame, and subsequently the coaches began rotating him more.
Reid said he got his second wind later in the game, but he also played fairly deep relative to the line of scrimmage.
The football part will sort itself out as Reid continues learning the playbook and his teammates' tendencies, not to mention more live reps in practice and games.
And as for the social justice aspect of Reid's presence on the team, two things were abundantly clear Sunday:
One, that his teammates _ from Newton to Peppers, and even younger players such as rookie Donte Jackson _ have his back as long as his protest continues.
Two? Reid's protest has a purpose, and so long as he feels that purpose needs addressing, the protest, the kneeling, will continue.
"We've made no progress, we feel like. We've made baby steps, but people try to give crumbs and present them as cakes," Reid said. "So you can come at me with all the hate you want, but it doesn't change the fact of the truth.
"I've always been considering what's best for the movement. I've always told myself when the time comes to stop kneeling that I'll stop _ that time has not come."
