AP/Mike McCarn
Stephen A. Smith accused Colin Kaepernick of using his recent workout "to make noise," and Eric Reid came to the blackballed quarterback's defense.
Eric Reid kneeled alongside Colin Kaepernick when the duo both played for the San Francisco 49ers.
And now that the blackballed quarterback is once again fighting for a spot in the NFL, Reid is standing by his side.
Kaepernick was scheduled to attend a private workout organized by the league and open to all of its franchises this past weekend. At one point, 25 teams were said to be sending representatives to the Kaepernick show, but Saturday's official showing fell through due to logistical disagreements and the league's insistence on Kaepernick signing a waiver to protect itself from future employment lawsuits.
Instead, Kaepernick chose to hold his own workout an hour after the previously-scheduled event that was open to all teams and the media. Eight teams attended, and by all accounts, Kaepernick threw well, but controversy ensued nonetheless.
Blame was assigned to both sides for the cancellation of the official NFL private workout, with many of those allied with Kaepernick criticizing the league's short notice and lack of transparency. On the other side of the conflict, people like Jay Z and ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith accused Kaepernick of not being interested in returning to the gridiron and, instead, turning the workout into a "publicity stunt."
On Saturday, Smith posted a video of himself ranting about Kaepernick's decision to not attend the official workout to Twitter.
"You don't want to work," Smith said. "You just want to make noise. And you want to control the narrative. It's over. Colin Kaepernick's asperations for an NFL career, it's over."
Reid did not take kindly to Smith's comments, accusing him of "tap dancing for the NFL" in a response on Twitter.
Smith swung back in the replies, arguing that perhaps "the enemy at THIS POINT ain't the NFL."
Reid responded the following day:
And then Smith criticized Reid - who currently plays for the Carolina Panthers - for devoting energy to their squabble on a gameday:
Smith then laid out his opinion on the Kaepernick matter, in full, on "First Take" Monday morning:
Whether or not Kaepernick's unofficial workout results in any concrete interest from NFL franchises remains to be seen, but it's clear that the debate surrounding the controversial quarterback is as contentious as ever.
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