Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid on Friday offered further proof of what he alleges is a campaign by the NFL to target him because of his ongoing grievance against the league.
Reid tweeted a video of a play from Monday night’s 12-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which Reid dove toward Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas as Thomas was being spun out of bounds by Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly.
There was no flag thrown, but according to Reid’s tweet, the NFL fined him US$20,054 for the play.
After the game, Reid tweeted a notice from the NFL attached to his locker that said he was randomly selected by the NFL to complete a “urine doping test today.”
According to Reid, it is the seventh drug test (sixth labeled as random) he has been subject to in the 11 weeks since he signed with the team.
“Number 7 ... ‘Random,’” he tweeted along with a photograph of the notice.
“I’ve been here 11 weeks, I’ve been drug tested seven times,” Reid told reporters after the game. “That has to be statistically impossible. I’m not a mathematician, but there’s no way that’s random.”
Yahoo Sports calculated the chances of that happening to be 0.17 percent.
ESPN last month reported that the NFL Players’ Association is looking into Reid’s allegation that the NFL is targeting him with non-random drug testing.
The association in May filed a collusion grievance on Reid’s behalf, alleging that NFL owners colluded to keep Reid from being signed as a response to his protests during the national anthem.
While a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Reid took a knee next to then-teammate Colin Kaepernick.
Based on the collective bargaining agreement, drug testing is conducted by an independent laboratory — without the NFL or association’s involvement — with players’ names chosen at random by a computer.
Reid also said he has never failed a test. Failed tests warrant more frequent testing tied to tiered penalties for further failed tests.
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