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When he spoke last week about his company's partnership with the NFL, Jay-Z was asked about Colin Kaepernick and said, among other things: "I think we went down on our knees. I think the time has come to act. "
Three NFL players continued to kneel during the National Anthem to draw attention to the issues of racial injustice and police brutality, and two of them made it clear that they had a problem with the National Anthem. Jay-Z's comments.
On Monday, it was Kenny Stills' turn to express his disappointment with the rapper and the business magnate. Stills, a Miami Dolphins catcher who had already demonstrated in front of his teammate Albert Wilson before his match, told reporters in front of his locker, [Jay-Z] answered his questions by talking about "We go on our knees" as he has never protested. He is not an NFL player.
"He has never been on one knee. To choose to speak for the people as he had spoken to the people. "
Stills added, "To be able to talk about it and say we are going beyond something, it did not seem very enlightened."
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, made the remarks on Wednesday at the headquarters of his entertainment company, Roc Nation, in New York, at a press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The company associates with the league to participate in the production of the Super Bowl halftime show and other NFL-related music events.
Roc Nation should also have a say in Inspire Change, an NFL initiative based on discussions with players about their desire to help communities and advance criminal justice reform. These discussions were triggered by headlines stemming from protesters' events originally initiated by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been unable to retain his squad since the start of the day. he became a free agent in March 2017, but continued his social activism.
Kaepernick sued the NFL for what he claimed to be collusion on the part of the team's owners to keep him out of the league. Both teams agreed on an undisclosed amount in February.
The subject of Kaepernick, which Jay-Z has publicly supported in the past, was frequently discussed on Wednesday and Jay-Z said at one point: "Everyone says," How are you if Kaep did not no work? "It was not about him having a job. . . . I believe that real change requires a real conversation and a real job. "
Stills said Monday about Jay-Z: "I felt really discredited by Colin and myself, as well as the work done in our communities. I think he could have handled the whole situation differently.
"If he had said," I see the work that Colin and these guys have done, and I want to associate with the league to advance this work, "it would have been totally different from the way it answered some of these questions. . "
"Most of the time, I try to tell people: let us work to find solutions. Let's wait and see what happens with this deal, "said the seventh-year, captain of the Dolphins team, who led them to touchdown receptions last season. "We can not really say for the moment. It does not suit me, I do not think it has been handled properly, but you never know.
Eric Reid, intimate friend and former teammate of Kaepernick, was one of the first to join the latter to kneel at the anthem.
According to a report on Friday that Jay-Z's partnership with the league would give him an "important stake" in an NFL team, Reid said it was "rather heinous".
"When did Jay-Z kneel to tell us we're already on our knees?" Said Reid in the Panthers' locker room, wearing a Kaepernick's number 7 jersey and a hashtag "ImWithKap" . "Yes, he did a lot of good work, a lot of social justice work. But for you to be paid to attend a press conference in the NFL, you are now kneeling – again, that's all. . . . He was paid to take the bullets he is taking now. Because we do not have it. "
Reid also mockingly referred to the Players Coalition, a group of NFL players whose dealings with the league culminated in Inspire Change and an NFL $ 89 million donation to community-driven and community-driven projects. the players. Reid and a few others broke with the Players Association, and he accused the group of being paid to help the league organize the protests, as well as the Kaepernick unemployment problem.
Before a game between the Panthers and the Eagles in October 2018, Reid had faced Malcolm Jenkins, one of Philadelphia's security chiefs and one of the leaders of the coalition of players. After the game, Reid called Jenkins a "sold-out" who "co-opted" what Kaepernick started to "get his organization funded."
Jenkins on Monday welcomed the partnership between Roc Nation and the NFL, stating: "Sit in front of billionaires and talk about the issues and why they should be important, and why the NFL should showcase them , I think someone like Jay-Z, can add to this conversation, who does these things everyday and who has always done these things, helps us as players to have an ally like that. I look forward to seeing how this is going to change. "
When asked if he thought the partnership was a "cynical" move from the NFL to "PR", or if he "came from a good place," Stills smiled and said, "I think that's a good thing." It's hard to say, but they have a good job of shifting the problem on the shoulders of Roc Nation and Shawn Carter, instead of themselves. "
About the word "despicable" used by Reid, Stills told reporters, "I understand his frustration."
"What I'm trying to do is bring people together. So I'm not going to go down that road personally, but I understand when people do it, "said Stills, three-time winner of the Dolphins. "Community Service Award. "I'm looking for solutions, and I'm going to try to give [Jay-Z] the benefit of the doubt for the moment, but that does not suit me.
"It's not something I agree with. It's not something I respect.
Kaepernick seemed to refer himself to Jay-Z's "We passed the knees" line in an Instagram post on Sunday, in which he congratulated Reid, Stills and Wilson for continuing to kneel.
"They have never gone beyond the people and continue to put their beliefs into practice," he wrote. "Stay strong brothers !!!"
On the same day, Stills shared a post on Instagram that showed him on his knees. In a long legend, he said: "I will continue to attack to raise awareness of the problems of police brutality, systematic oppression and social injustice in our country – it is action . "
The Receiver General, who earlier this month criticized Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for organizing a fundraiser for President Trump, said he would "continue the work" he was doing "in parallel with the manifestation ", and listed the following elements:
– "educate and educate others on social issues."
– "To be a defender of mental well-being."
– "Coaching young people and encouraging positive actions in our community."
– "Work with law enforcement to emphasize security and accountability in our communities."
– "And finally, do my best to use the sport as a platform to bring people together."
"There is a great opportunity for this agreement to have an impact and that's the goal," Stills wrote on Instagram about Jay-Z's partnership with the NFL. "I will say that I do not respect the way the parties acted.
"We can all work for social justice without denigrating ourselves. . . . Let's hope that Roc Nation recognizes it and changes its position vis-à-vis people using different methods to achieve a common goal, hopefully. "
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