Rap mogul Jay-Z is still trying to defend his deal with the NFL even as former quarterback Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned. This time the rapper insisted that he and Kaepernick are “marching” for the same cause despite the rapper’s big money deal with the NFL.
Jay-Z took some time to talk to the New York Times ahead of Super Bowl 54 and the conflict between him and Kaepernick was inevitably raised.
In the interview, the Empire State of Mind rapper was pressed once again on his abandonment of Kaepernick because he is working with the National Football League. Jay-Z agreed that Kaepernick was “done wrong,” but added that it is long past time to move on.
“No one is saying he hasn’t been done wrong. He was done wrong,” the rapper said. “I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago, and someone needs to say, ‘What do we do now — because people are still dying?'”
Jay-Z added, “We are two adult men who disagree on the tactic but are marching for the same cause.”
It does not appear that Kaepernick, though, is ready to so blithely “move past” anything. In fact, in a tweet from last August, the former San Francisco 49er praised his friends because “they never moved past the people,” a veiled jab at Jay-Z for saying America needs to move on from a focus on Kaepernick.
Still, Jay-Z continues to take guff from those unhappy he signed on with the NFL. The music world largely cooperated to stand behind Colin Kaepernick in 2017 with many acts refusing to perform the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show that year as the league left the player unsigned because of his year-long, anti-American protests on the field. Indeed, Jay-Z himself was one of the musicians who refused to work with the NFL that year.
But only a year later, the rapper seemed to reverse his stance and entered into a multi-million dollar deal with the league to push a “social justice” narrative with the NFL’s halftime shows, entertainment choices, and other programs.
The rapper quickly came under fire for what many saw as a betrayal of Kaepernick.
Many supporters of Kaepernick’s “social justice” causes slammed Jay-Z for cooperating with the very league that “blackballed” Kaepernick and prevented him from continuing his pro football career.
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