When Jay-Z sat down with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this month and announced that he and his company Roc Nation would help the league with entertainment and its social justice initiatives it caused a major firestorm.
And the talk seemed to reach an even higher level once it was rumored the rap mogul purchased a stake in an NFL team, which some reports have indicated is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On one side, many championed Jay’s move and said the rapper will bring the NFL up to speed on how it deals with race issues. On the other, some said Jay partnering with the league without including Colin Kaepernick in the deal makes it wrong.
The Carolina Panthers’ Eric Reid and Kap’s girlfriend Nessa Diab were among those who already blasted Jay.
Kaepernick’s last official game in the NFL was January 1, 2017 and many, including Kap himself, suspect he was frozen out because he began kneeling for the national anthem to protest social injustices against black people.
Killer Mike clearly holds the opinion that Jay’s deal is a good thing, and he explained why during the August 16 episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“The NFL is fueled by talent from black kids and poor working class white kids that made good,” said the Run the Jewels rapper. “Jay-Z has been a capitalist his entire career and a celebrated one because he’s one of us that made it out the streets and made it in the rooms and he did what he could when he should.
“Jay-Z’s play, I believe, not only gives us a seat at the table … It doesn’t destroy what Kaepernick kneeled for,” added Mike. “What he kneeled for was proper treatment of us by state agents, the police. That does not end with him getting a job. The same way him kneeling is not an insult to the military. … I believe if Jay-Z becomes a team owner Kap gets a tryout.”
But Mike’s point seemed to open up the online debate even further, and people maintained their positions. For example, one person said many are commenting on Jay’s deal without knowing the ins and outs of it.
“Boy speaking fax we looking at the small picture and running with it we don’t know the full story the behind closed doors discussions,” one person wrote.
“If Jay Z owns or partially owns a team…Kaep not getting a tryout. Sorry Killer Mike. Sh– not happening,” wrote another.
Jay-Z has been silent about the backlash over the deal, as well as the support.
