Eric Reid has indicated numerous times in the past that he believes the NFL is unfairly targeting him with a drug testing program that is supposed to be random, and the Carolina Panthers safety claims it has continued this offseason.
On Sunday, Reid shared a photo of himself working out on Instagram and said he has already been drug tested twice during training camp and three times total since the start of the league year. He used quotation marks around the word “random,” which clearly means he still thinks the NFL is paying closer attention to him than other players.
Odell Beckham Jr. was among those who commented on the post, and he said he has also been “randomly” tested multiple times.
Reid told reporters last year that he was drug tested six times between September and November. He said one of those tests was part of his physical and the other five were random, but Reid noted that the system “doesn’t feel very random.” That led to the NFL and NFL Players Association issuing a joint statement claiming an investigation proved Reid’s tests were randomly generated through a computer and he was not targeted. A follow-up report said the investigation also revealed that Reid lied about the amount of times he had been tested, though the NFL and NFLPA did not say that publicly.
Since Reid has been a big advocate for national anthem protests and has gone out of his way to support Colin Kaepernick, the implication was that he was being targeted for taking a stance. He hasn’t come out and said that recently, but he obviously still wants people to know he feels he is not being treated fairly.
