September 1, 2019
OPINION | HARD KNOCKS LIFE
By Michael Wayne Carter

To say the NFL’s relationship with certain folks in the black community has been strained would be an understatement to say the least. In the 2016 NFL preseason, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was spotted sitting on a team bench during the Nation’s anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner”. In a post game interview he took a firm stance stating:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder".

With that statement, whether anyone knew it or not, the die had been cast. After a conversation with teammate and military Veteran Nate Boyer, Kaepernick decided to kneel during the National Anthem.

After a tumultuous 2016 season, Kaepernick opted out of his 49ers contract and was subsequently black-balled from a league that just three seasons prior he was competing in and nearly won a Super Bowl. After filing a grievance against the NFL in November of 2017, claiming the owners had colluded to keep him out of a job, the two parties would reach a confidential settlement in February of 2019.

On August 13th, it was announced ROC Nation, a multimedia company owned by Jay-Z, would be entering into a partnership with the NFL. At the time of the press conference details weren’t specific but Jay-Z stated:

I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice, correct? So in that case, this is a success; this is the next thing. ‘Cause there’s two parts of protesting. You go outside and you protest, and then the company or the individual says, ‘I hear you. What do we do next?’ So for me it was like, action, actionable item, what are we going to do with it? Everyone heard and we hear what you’re saying, and everybody knows I agree with what you’re saying. So what are we going to do? So we should, millions of millions of people, and all we get stuckon [is] Colin not having a job

A very interesting take now, I’m not here to condemn Jay-Z like Dame Dash in a No Jumper interview he did for $500 because he needed gas money. It’s a well-known fact that Jay-Z has helped spread awareness for various causes. He paid the bail for protesters but he is a business... man. So going as far as to leverage a situation in his favor is not beneath him, its just politics as usual. I do feel he’s being disingenuous when he says we get stuck on Kaepernick not having a job, as if the same discrimination in the justice system doesn’t play a role in the black unemployment rate. I waited patiently to see what the particulars of this deal would be and I’m sad to report it’s no more than propaganda, “T-Shirts and music” as stated by ESPN’s Dominique Foxworth.

Jay-Z and Colin Kaepernick should be opposed. There’s more than one may to skin a cat, or affect change, and contrary to popular belief, Shawn Carter will not own a NFL team anytime soon - that’s just not how that good ol’ boys club gets down. Colin Kaepernick’s sacrifice, and it was a sacrifice, will be remembered forever and a multimedia company partnering with the NFL will as be as memberable as a less than one percent stake in a Brooklyn basketball team that gentrified a whole neighborhood. Whelp, I guess that’s comes with having an empire state-of-mind. Ya’ll have a great weekend. Peace.

#JayZ #NFL #RocNation #49ers #ColinKaepernick #Kaepernick #NateBoyer #SuperBowl #DameDash