As long as he’s being blackballed, Colin Kaepernick isn’t rocking with Travis Scott or anybody that performs at The NFL’s Super Bowl.
Rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi both got tremendous social media backlash for crossing the picket lines, violating the unofficial Super Bowl Halftime show boycott.
Elite artists such as Cardi B, Rihanna and Jay-Z have refused to do the show until the NFL stops blackballing Colin Kaepernick because of his stance against police brutality and racial injustice.
So @BigBoi, you want THIS to be your legacy…to be the 327th person asked to perform at the SuperBowl and selling out our people in the process. #GreatJob…how proud you must be.
— Ayesha J. Whyte (@ajwhyte_esq) January 14, 2019
Scott probably assumed that the $500,000 donation he worked out with the NFL would cover his ass when the pro-Kaepernick crowd inevitably came for his head.
https://twitter.com/HipHop/status/1084563785744928768
While artists like Cardi are being socially responsible and doing their best to inform people about important issues in the country, artists such as Scott and Big Boi see nothing but an opportunity to capitalize on the integrity of those unwilling to perform.
https://youtu.be/GOk0K4-XEM4
Scott’s NFL bread didn’t really help the situation. In fact, most people feel like he is trying to buy his way out of trouble with people of color who are adamantly against doing business with the NFL until it stops its blackballing of Kap — who is more than capable of still playing and excelling in the league.
On Tuesday, Variety reported that Scott had spoken to Kap about the halftime show, as well as the $500,000 donation that he and the NFL made to Dream Corps, a self-described “social justice accelerator” run by CNN’s Van Jones.
Scott’s camp reportedly said that the tone of the conversation was contentious but positive, which implied that Kaepernick’s camp was good with Scott performing at the Super Bowl.
The Breakfast Club reported that a source close to Scott said that while the two did not necessarily agree, they emerged from the conversation with “mutual respect and understanding.”
TMZ also reported on the conversation, and that report was more explicit about Kaepernick not supporting Scott’s halftime show performance:
“Before the contract was signed, sources tell us Travis reached out to Colin … presumably to get him on board but not to ask for permission. We’re told Colin was not supportive of Travis performing at the Super Bowl. Multiple sources characterize the conversation as “cordial and not hostile.”
After the Variety report dropped, Kaepernick went on a retweeting spree.
So you’re trying to tell ME that Kaepernick, a man that has been Blackballed by the NFL, costing him his career, for protesting against police terrorism, gave the green light to .@TrvisXX, a man that insinuated that Mike Brown was at fault in his death, to partner with the NFL?👌🏾 https://t.co/FQG1q8J58Y
— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) January 16, 2019
Any message that seemed to be against Scott performing at the Super Bowl and suggested that Kaep was against it, was retweeted, including one by his girlfriend Nessa, who clearly drew the lines between Kaepernick supporters and those folks like Travis Scott who weaken the cause.
There is NO mutual respect and there is NO understanding for anyone working against @Kaepernick7 PERIOD. #stoplying https://t.co/0HB6kcWJRG
— NESSA (@nessnitty) January 16, 2019
Hot 97 personality Ebro also sent out a forceful Tweet, totally obliterating the notion that Kapernick would approve of Scott’s Super Bowl performance.
Kap did not approve this bullshit! Get the fuck outta here…. https://t.co/yyMVAXQB3k
— the Old Man Ebro (@oldmanebro) January 16, 2019
A pattern is developed here in regards to the NFL dishing out money in the name of the Black community to keep the possibility of protests out of the game.
This isn’t the first time the NFL has tried to buy its way out of dealing with the real issues. They basically did it with the deal they struck with the Players Coalition last year, which effectively ended kneeling during the anthem.
Maroon 5 was on an island by itself for a while desperately reaching out to about 10 acts including Cardi B, Lauryn Hill, Usher, and Nicki Minaj–all of whom said “negative.”
When Scott announced his decision to perform, Jay- Z and Meek Mill were two leading artists who blasted him and tried to talk him out of it, to no avail. Scott believes he has a right to contribute to the cause in his own way and it shouldn’t be dictated by Kaepernick or any other person.
I respect Scott’s individuality, but this is the frame of thinking that ends up with our Black heroes wearing MAGA hats and confederate symbols.
https://twitter.com/cleanupcrw/status/1085681018449940480
“I back anyone who takes a stand for what they believe in,” Scott said in a statement. “I know being an artist that it’s in my power to inspire. So before confirming the Super Bowl Halftime performance, I made sure to partner with the NFL on this important donation. I am proud to support Dream Corps and the work they do that will hopefully inspire and promote change.”
Scott has made himself an enemy of Team Kaepernick and despite the fame and fortune he holds at this juncture, the performance could come back to bite him in the ass in the future.
Even if Scott’s best intentions prompted him to cut a deal with the NFL, to people who view the struggle as very real, it appears to be another NFL payoff accepted on the people’s behalf, by another Black person of influence and stature.
