Earlier this year, there was a lot of talk about Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs being interested in buying the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and he actually put in a bid.
But now, Puffy has done an about-face and said he’s no longer interested in purchasing the team, because of how Black players are treated.
“I was one of the two last bids for the Panthers,” he said during an interview on BigBoyTV. “I really wanted to go in there and be a part of the NFL and try to be a positive change. This last move, though, I don’t even want to own an NFL team no more. I don’t want to be associated with oppressing Black men. I don’t want to be associated with telling grown a– men what they can do and cannot do.”
Diddy referred to the NFL’s new policy that states players are no longer able to kneel during the “Star Spangled Banner,” which was started by Colin Kaepernick in 2016. If players do kneel, they’ll be subjected to fines, and the new rule has been blasted by some players, as well as the NFL Player’s Association.
Since Kaepernick and others began protesting, Donald Trump has voiced strong opposition and called them unpatriotic.
But surprisingly, Trump just announced that he wants to meet with those players who still plan to kneel to discuss prison reform with them. He also wants to hear from those players about who they believe was treated unfairly by the justice system.
“You have a lot of people in the NFL in particular but in sports leagues, they’re not proud enough to stand for our National Anthem. I don’t like that,” said Trump from the White House.
“What I’m going to do is, I’m going to say to them instead of talk … I am going to ask all of those people to recommend to me — because that’s what they’re protesting — people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system,” Trump said. “And I understand that … If the athletes have friends of theirs or people they know that have been unfairly treated by the system, let me know.”
In Diddy’s interview, he said if the NFL doesn’t change its new policy, it could be putting itself on the wrong side of history, and he encouraged the players to stand strong.
“Y’all in a messed up position, but this is a defining time and if Ali and all them was able to do it, if Jim Brown was able to do it, if y’all stick together, they can’t break you,” he said.
“I’m just at a point where my feelings are hurt because I’m such an NFL fan. And I hope they do what they have to do to fix it. And I hope that they re-engage my dream to want to do that because if not, I don’t want to be associated … My players could have done whatever they want,” added Diddy.
