Hip Hop mogul Jay-Z, real name Sean Carter, is making headlines for his controversial deal with the NFL. Rightly so, the NFL has been cancelled by many African Americans and allies in an act of support for Colin Kaepernick. Since his firing, #boycottNFL started trending and many influential people voiced their support, but now Carter who was once one of Kaepernick's biggest supporters has had a change of heart and has signed a deal to partner with the NFL.
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The partnership gives the artist input on entertainment at every NFL event, and will potentially make him the first African American owner in the leagues nearly 100 year old history. Impressive as it may be, many are finding the gesture contradictory to his previous support of Kaepernick. Following the announcement many on social media, including fellow artists and friends, have voiced their disapproval of the decision. When questioned about previous support of Kaepernick Carter responded, "I think we're past kneeling," and that it's now "time for action." What's missing from the response however is what action he is taking to actively change the environment of the NFL, or more specifically the treatment of Black players within the league, nor has the artist elaborated on how and if the league is doing anything to combat social injustice that continues to plague the country.
I'm all for a Black man getting a check, but never at the expense of his integrity. Ever since the deal has been made public Carter's team has good in defense mode, especially in regard to Carter stating that he'd spoken with Kaepernick regarding the deal. To correct the misdirection his team released a statement clarifying that although Carter did speak with Kaepernick, it wasn't until after the deal and that even then the conversation was not about the deal. Let's be clear, no one is saying that Jay-Z doesn't deserve a seat at the table, however one can't criticize the table and then happily pull up a seat when there has not been any changes to the spread.
