Jay-Z’s New Deal With The NFL Is A Polarizing One
On August 13, 2019, Jay-Z further expanded his business portfolio. The billionaire rapper's Roc Nation label agreed on a deal with the NFL to coordinate entertainment and exercise the league's social-justice initiative.
This deal is polarizing, to say the least. The moment this became news, Jay-Z received scathing backlash. Some believe the rapper has ulterior motives that will lead to a radical change. Can he do this after publicly supporting the very person the NFL banished for speaking up in what he believes is right?
Jay-Z said: "I think we've moved past kneeling and I think it's time to go into actionable items."
An unnamed source close to Colin Kaepernick said that the athlete and mogul barely spoke before the deal and that it was "not a good conversation." Both men have skeletons in their closet as far as working with the NFL goes. Earlier in 2019, Kapernick settled with the league over the case that teams were in collusion not to sign the Pro-Bowler. The information wasn't disclosed, but reports confirm that he received a quality check. There are also no details available about Jay-Z's deal, so people are left to speculate.
On the morning of August, 18, Kaepernick might've taken a jab at the rapper when he tweeted a picture of players kneeling, and captioning it: "My Brothers @E_Reid35 @KSTiLLS @iThinkIsee12 continue to fight for the people, even in the face of death threats. They have never moved past the people and continue to put their beliefs into action. Stay strong Brothers!!!"
While Kaepernick is being passive-aggressive, the Brooklyn emcee looks to be taking the high road and doing his best not explicitly to answer the tough questions. He further added, "No, I don't want people to stop protesting at all. Kneeling — I know we're stuck on it because it's a real thing — but kneeling is a form of protest. I support protest across the board. We need to bring light to the issue. I think everyone knows what the issue is — we're done with that."
