“No evidence of targeting or any other impropriety with respect to his selection for testing.”
Safety, Eric Reid has had an interesting season.
After leaving the 49ers, Reid remained unsigned, causing accusations of collusion to erupt. He was, and remains, a supporter of Colin Kaepernick, so the speculation was that no team wanted to be aligned with either player.
Then Reid signed with the Carolina Panthers in September, joining Cam Newton, Ron Rivera, and company. But the drama didn’t stop there. There was the on-field confrontation with Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, animosity which stemmed from the so-called Player’s Coalition’s decision to make a deal with the NFL to end on-field protests in return for donations to various charities. A month later, Reid announced that he had been called to take another drug test, his sixth since joining the Panthers.
As a result, Reid let it be known that he felt he was being targeted.
With being randomly selected for a drug test five times in an 11-game span, it’s tough not to think it’s targeting, especially when, according to USA Today, “only 10 players per team are randomly tested per week.” Further fuel for the fire is the fact he was also tested twice as part of his physical for the Panthers.
“That has to be statistically impossible,” said Reid in December. “I’m not a mathematician, but there’s no way that’s right.”
Many fans agreed.
Today, the NFL and NFLPA issued a joint statement on the issue, stating that there was no evidence of targeting.
New NFL-NFLPA joint statement pic.twitter.com/mjnYRqNrrb
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) January 9, 2019
According to the statement, “Mr. Reid’s tests were randomly generated via computer algorithm” and “there is no evidence of targeting or any other impropriety with respect to his selection for testing.”
While they have found no evidence of targeting, you have to wonder just how that algorithm was created as it seemed to keep finding Reid.
As of this morning, Eric Reid has not issued a statement. We will keep you updated on the situation.
