JAY-Z’s recent partnership with the NFL has been met with a lot of raised eyebrows and condemnation.
The rap mogul vocally supported Colin Kaepernick‘s peaceful protest against police brutality and reportedly went as far as to talk Travis Scott out of performing during last year’s halftime Superbowl. So when it was announced Roc Nation would help manage the league’s entertainment and social justice leg, many didn’t understand why.
The criticism only grew after the 4:44 artist alleged to have spoken to Kaepernick about his new business venture, only for his longtime girlfriend Nessa to refute the claims on social media.
TMZ then reported JAY Z will have majority ownership in an NFL team, which now puts more pressure on him to be a change agent and not just a figurehead.
Eric Reid on Jay Z kneeling statement: “When has Jay Z ever taken a knee? For you get paid to go into a NFL conference and say we are past kneeling is asinine.” pic.twitter.com/BO9RCLUHek
— Ashley Holder (@AshNoelleTV) August 17, 2019
Carolina Panther’s safety Eric Reid spoke with reporters about JAY-Z’s newest venture and called it “despicable.”
“When has JAY-Z ever taken a knee? Yes, he’s done a lot of great work,” Reid said. “A lot of great social justice work, but for you to get paid to go into an NFL press conference and say that we’re past kneeling? Again, asinine. Players Coalition 2.0. He got paid to take the bullets that he’s taking now because we’re not having it.”
To Reid and many others, JAY-Z looks hypocritical.
“JAY-Z claimed to be a supporter of Colin, wore his jersey, told people not to perform at the Super Bowl because of the treatment that the NFL did to Colin. Now he’s going to be a part-owner and it’s kind of despicable.”