NFL head Roger Goodell recently addressed questions about why Colin Kaepernick is still out of the NFL.
Goodell told reporters at a press conference ahead of Super Bowl LIII that, it’s always been up to the teams to decide who is on their rosters, according to a TMZ report from Jan. 30. But Goodell did not seem to want to keep the focus on Kaepernick at the expense of souring the atmosphere during Super Bowl festivities in Atlanta.
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One reporter framed the Kaepernick issue as a “stain on the NFL’s shield,” and mentioned that musical performers don’t want to participate in performances at the Super Bowl. The reporter asked Goodell what he plans to do to about it.
“We have great artists performing all week here in Atlanta. We’re extremely pleased with the diversity, the quality, and the excitement that surround our entertainers. And this is the biggest stage in the world. And I know people want to be part of that.”
The reporter continued to press Goodell to acknowledge backlash over Kaepernick.
“We have close to 200 million fans, as I talked to you before. We know that there are segments that are gonna have different reactions to different things that go on in our league. But ultimately I think people respect and admire the things we do and want to be part of it,” said Goodell.
Then a CBS Sports reporter tried to equate Kaepernick’s situation to actions taken by protestors during the civil rights movement.
“Jason, I’ve said it many times, privately, publicly, that our clubs are the ones that make decisions on players that they wanna have on their roster. They make that individually. They make that in the best interest of their team,” Goodell responded. “And that’s something that we as the NFL take pride in—individual clubs make decisions that maybe another club won’t do. And they all want to win. And they are all gonna do whatever they can to win. So, from our standpoint, that’s our focus, and that will continue to be our focus.”
The NFL issued a statement that halftime act Maroon 5 won’t be doing a news conference, a break with the event’s usual practice. According to The Washington Post, this raised suspicions that the NFL was trying to avoid more Colin Kaepernick questions.
Many music artists known to be involved in entertainment during the Super Bowl this year, including Jermaine Dupri, Gladys Knight, Travis Scott, and Maroon 5, have faced questions from the media about the Colin Kaepernick issue. The discussion has hovered around entertainers, while participating players, fans buying tickets, and fans that plan to watch on TV have not faced any questions for their participation.
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Halftime performer Travis Scott has faced particularly scathing scrutiny, perhaps because of his race. He was even apparently called a “sell out” for agreeing to perform by Kaepernick’s girlfriend, Spin reported.
Rapper Nelly also weighed in on the discussion, and the St. Louis artist didn’t see much sense in debating who will be performing.
“I don’t see the big deal on people upset about who’s performing at halftime. Because what people have to understand, if you’re really against the NFL, the halftime show is not what you should be concerned about,” Nelly told TMZ.
When Nelly was asked on whether Kaepernick has a valid point in disapproving of Travis Scott’s performance, he also didn’t see much sense in it. He again expressed that if you are against the NFL, “the halftime show is irrelevant.”
Nelly said he is fine with anybody performing at halftime. He also said he that he performed at the Super Bowl halftime show twice, and that he would probably do it again.
