The National Football League's commissioner, Rodger Goodell, met with Jay-Z , one of the most successful rappers of all-time and a hip-hop mogul. The two had a joint media session in the Roc Nation's office building in New York. The general public has taken notice or is most likely aware that the NFL has had an image problem for quite some time. Starting from the withheld concussion information to the players' protest. Colin Kaepernick is rightly given the credit on starting the dialogue by sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem that is traditionally played before a sporting event.
Kaepernick's protest was to raise awareness on police brutality and the inequality that exists in the country. It was spun and turned into a debate about the flag and symbolism rather than addressing the real physical impact a bullet has on human flesh. There is so much to unpack and unravel from that. However, that is not the main purpose for what is to be discussed today. That is not to imply that the words of the President and many others who lack or have a very limited knowledge of sport history should be ignored and not properly addressed.
The focus is on Jay-Z. He partnered with the NFL to develop the NFL's social-justice initiatives by creating a place and space for players to speak out on issues and the Super Bowl halftime show. I don't want to be a skeptic, but I have a sense that the latter is what Roc Nation will be more heavily concerned with. After all Jay-Z is a smart businessman and why wouldn't you want your entertainment company to have an exclusive inside access pass to one of the country's most watched sporting event? To clarify, the focus on Jay-Z is not to excuse the multiple times the NFL has botched on social and health issues or make Roger Goodell the good guy here. The thesis is to understand some of the backlash Jay-Z has received due in part of this partnership deal.
There are quite a few ways to go about this. The method I chose was to examine a few words that Jay-Z said that left me scratching my head. Especially since it came from someone who has utilized his platform pretty well when it has come to social issues. The quote in full below. Granted there is more to the media session, but this caught my eye.
“I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice, correct?” Jay-Z said during the press conference. “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 stuck on [is] Colin not having a job. I think we’re past kneeling. I think it’s time for action.”
The first part that I question is Jay-Z stating that one protests an "individual or company." That right there says a few things and Jay-Z unknowingly undermines Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick was not protesting an individual (President 45?) or a company (NFL). He was protesting police brutality and inequality which Kaepernick said from the very beginning when reporters asked him why he took a knee.
From my understanding the majority of protest are intended and aimed at government institutions for failing their citizens. Which is a social structure problem not an NFL or individual issue. In that context, Jay-Z has shifted the systemic problems Kaepernick wanted to bring up into the forefront of national conversation towards a solution. A solution that two companies will attempt to solve. To be fair, Jay-Z did not say that this partnership will solve institutional racism that exist in the country.
That follows my second problem with what Jay-Z said. Which was that he implemented "we" as in millions of people were stuck on Colin Kaepernick not having a job. That plays into the hands of the NFL when it comes to their public image of the league blackballing the former Quarterback. Jay-Z fails to see that Kaepernick used his platform to speak out on social issues and lost his job for it. The NFL is a company that exist within a much larger structure. That structure is the US economy that is more of a pro-enterprise market than a free market. Enterprises have been given more rights and leniency than individual Americans. That is the excuse that has allowed for laws and practices to strip Black Americans from their rights, land, and jobs. That is were I think Jay-Z fails to understand the history of racism in America.
I believe that Jay-Z has well intentions in his partnership with the NFL, it will certainly benefit his company. However, this is a business to business partnership and the bottom line is to make as much money as possible. This is similar to the outrage I sometimes read about people calling Hollywood or other sectors of the entertainment industry as hypocrites. Yes, the entertainment industry may have liberal and progressive views, but their main thrust is to entertain not get the Democratic candidate in the Colorado senate race elected.
This is my guess in why part of the backlash Jay-Z has encountered the last few days. There may be a lot more to it, but by entering this partnership Jay-Z is not thinking about Kaepernick or else he would have had him take some part in this. It is very early to predict the future with how this will turn out. The financial details have not been disclosed and Jay-Z has not had any time to demonstrate his work and vision in this project. All I know is that the structures will limit and social justice progress.
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