Jay-Z's new partnership with the NFL leaves Colin Kaepernick in the dust: Today's talker
Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has partnered with the NFL, giving him oversight of the football league's live entertainment and a role in the league's social justice initiatives. The partnership, announced last week, has drawn some criticism because of Jay-Z's support in the past of former professional football player Colin Kaepernick.
Jay-Z becomes a co-conspirator
By Ricky L. Jones
Football is back and, once again, Colin Kaepernick is not on the field. By all indications, he never will be. That didn’t stop hip-hop mogul and former Kaepernick supporter Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter from entering into a new partnership with the league.
Even Carter’s supporters struggle to reasonably juxtapose the obvious contradictions and odd change of course by a man who has moved from lionizing Kaepernick to coldly dismissing him by arguing, “I think we’re past kneeling” (as if Kaepernick has done nothing else).
Carter has gone from advising other black entertainers not to participate in the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show to now taking money to help organize the shows himself and supposedly carry the “social justice” baton forward.
Carter’s acolytes contend his actions are justified because he has a supposed master plan that possibly involves Kaepernick or, better yet, is angling to change the game by eventually becoming an NFL owner himself. The people closest to Kaepernick are not impressed.
Carolina Panthers defensive back Eric Reid labeled this a “disingenuous partnership” that allows NFL power brokers to “act like they care about people of color.” Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills agrees. Kaepernick’s girlfriend, New York radio host Nessa Diab, railed that there is no “master plan” that involves Kaepernick and called Carter’s actions “disgusting and disappointing.”
To be fair, one cannot neatly fit Carter into the “racial sellout” category in that he has done a good deal of justice work. In this case, it is also difficult to argue against observations that he is, nonetheless, consenting in our hegemonic system.
As such dramas unfold, anesthetizing “corrective initiatives” are often championed by carefully chosen “front people” plucked from the aggrieved group who usually lack true sociopolitical scope, historical grounding or interest in making actual change. For all intents and purposes, they become co-conspirators.
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Some conspire without knowing they are doing so. Others are fully aware the endeavors are diversions, but are willing to apologetically participate for the sake of vulgar personal profiteering. After all, this is America and, when it’s all said and done, the pursuit of money and power justifies everything.
Importantly, hegemonic systems demand ritual human sacrifices in exchange for minimal, or even illusory, concessions. In this case, Kaepernick is the one chosen for slaughter.
By sitting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and proclaiming we can’t “get stuck on Colin not having a job,” Carter displayed his willingness to lock arms with Pharaoh and condemn Kaepernick to the desert.
Shawn Carter is not alone in now being comfortable leaving Kaepernick behind to languish. Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock and Marcellus Wiley both believe that Kaepernick’s motives may have been “impure” because, in their minds, he is more concerned about himself than “the movement.” Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon labeled him “disruptive.”
The willingness of many to throw leaders on the scrapheap of humanity while others benefit from their sacrifices forces us to ask whether men and women like Kaepernick are the true fools for even trying.
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MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace might have said it best when she teased a segment on Carter’s partnership with the NFL, “This is either the ultimate power move or further evidence that everyone and everything has a price.”
Indeed, only time will tell which is the case.
Ricky L. Jones is chair of Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville. This column originally appeared in the Courier Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @DrRickyLJones
What other people are saying
Jay-Z, news conference: "I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice so in that case this is a success — this is the next thing. There’s two parts of protest: the protest, and then there’s a company or individual saying, ‘I hear you, what do we do next?’ For me it’s about actionable items, what are we gonna do about it? We get stuck on Colin not having a job, you know what I’m saying? ... I’m into action, I’m into real work — I’m not into how it looks from the outside. If protesting on the field is the most effective way, then protest on the field. But if you have a vehicle that can inspire change and speak to the masses at the same time, it’s hard to steal the narrative away.”
Mike Jones, USA TODAY: "I polled a number of players about their thoughts on the league’s partnership with Jay-Z, and the consensus was that if Jay-Z wanted to donate time and resources to join their fight, so be it. It’s too early to tell exactly how he will affect the league or the players’ efforts. But he should at least get the chance to show what he can do before everyone passes judgment on whether this is a potential game-changing partnership or merely window dressing. If members of the Players Coalition are willing to see how this plays out, when they’re the ones working the hardest to spark change, so too should we."
Michael Arceneaux, Esquire: "So, we are supposed to put our faith in the NFL to lead a social justice campaign just because the league has a new partnership with a black businessman? Though the financial specifics of the deal have not been disclosed, some reports say Jay-Z might get ownership of an NFL team. I have heard people directly argue that critics of Jay-Z's deal should look at the bigger picture, but not everyone judges right and wrong through the lens of hypercapitalism. I’m not against a black person owning a professional team, but considering the league's treatment of Kaepernick, I’m inclined to lean into Eric Reid’s sentiment that such a move in this moment to be kind of 'despicable.' I’m for Jay-Z making his money, but there is something to be said for finding different ways to make a dollar."
Jonathan Jones, Sports Illustrated: "The sliver of hope so many are holding onto is that Jay-Z will help fix the system from the inside-out. A significant ownership stake, albeit a minority share, would instantly make him the most powerful black voice the NFL has ever had. It’s that hope that black men and women who are fans of both Jay-Z and Kaepernick, who disagree with the NFL’s treatment of the quarterback, who don’t wish to choose between the two, are grasping at. Jay-Z won’t be canceled ... but his next steps are being watched closely."
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What our readers are saying
The NFL, with its own ongoing problem with some players breaking the law and trying to resolve it — this is a bad idea. The image problem the league is dealing with will only get much worse.
— Michael Younger
Why should Kaepernick get to tell Jay-Z what he can and can't do?
— Matthew Radican
As a billionaire, Jay-Z does need the money, right?
— Gregory Thebeau
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jay-Z-NFL partnership: Colin Kaepernick sacrificed in business deal
