49ers Reid Protest Football
San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid (35) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif. Reid has resumed his kneeling protest for human rights during the national anthem, after joining then-teammate Kaepernick's polarizing demonstration last season. (AP Photo|Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie disputed the notion that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, and current free agent, is being 'blacklisted' by NFL owners because of his decision to kneel during the national anthem last season.
"I think the definition of being 'blacklisted' is some discussion among some people to not hire, not approve, or something like that," Lurie said of Kaepernick Thursday at the NovaCare Complex. "I've never had a discussion with anybody. It doesn't work that way. There's no communication whatsoever. We're very competitive against each other, 32 owners.
"I don't reveal anything. They don't reveal anything. There's never been any discussion about any player in my 23 years in the league, I've never heard any discussion of any player in the league like that. You keep it to yourself. You have your own strategy. I think that's the way it works."
Lurie declined to address the direct question of whether or not the Eagles would consider signing Kaepernick, citing the team's satisfaction with the current quarterback situation with Carson Wentz entrenched as the starter and Nick Foles as his backup.
However, Lurie did point to the actions of Malcolm Jenkins and other players elevating their actions beyond simply protesting the anthem.
"Social injustice is a big problem in America," Lurie said. "It's a big problem around the globe. Anybody who wants to do proactive things to try to reverse social injustice, I'm all in favor of. It has to be respectful. It certainly has to respect the military and the men and women who serve our country. Emergency responders. Whoever that is. If you do it in a respectful way.
"I applaud anybody that can find respectful ways of trying to find their platform in some way. We all need to discuss social injustice. We've all seen it. It's multiple issues. It's not simple racial issues. There's a lot of economic issues. Players have grit and determination, there's no boundary on how that grit and determination gets expressed. Sports is an opportunity to bring people together. I applaud when players can bring communities together. We see it all the time. I think it's great."
Jenkins has been one of the players across the NFL both at the forefront of the anthem protests, as well as as an activist off the field lobbying for criminal justice reform and the eradication of police brutality of minorities while taking audiences with local community leaders, the Philadelphia Police Department and all the way up to Capitol Hill and Speaker of The House Paul Ryan.
"There's a lot going on," Jenkins told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. "There's a lot of different layers to it. One of the areas that we've been focused on when it comes to community-police relations is just establishing that face-to-face relationship building. Bringing officers and community members around in a positive manner to break down some of the stereotypes that we have about each other.
"But it's also filing legislation, and events that help with police accountability that could be body cameras, new policy changes that allow officers previous records to be shown ... There's just a lot of work that needs to be done to push through those barriers and there's also our criminal justice system in general. The biggest thing is finding those areas and lending our support."
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoPHL.