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Jay-Z turns down offer to perform at Super Bowl after dedicating song to Kaepernick

Jay-Z has reportedly turned down an offer to perform at the 2018 Super Bowl.

This news comes on the heels of Jay-Z’s performance at The Meadows Festival in Queens this weekend where Jay-Z dedicated a performance of “The Story of O.J.” to Colin Kaepernick.

As the beat kicked in, Jay told the crowd that he wanted to shoutout Kaepernick, as well as the late comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, and everyone fighting to overcome obstacles. Jay-Z said,

“I want to dedicate this song to Colin Kaepernick tonight. I want to dedicate this [song] to Dick Gregory. I want to dedicate this song to anyone that was held back and you overcame.”

It’s not a stretch to link Jay-Z’s refusal to perform at the Super Bowl and his support of Colin Kaepernick. Many Kaepernick supporters and activists on the left have called for a boycott of the NFL over the blatant blackballing of Kaepernick over his political and social stances.

Although these protests are directed at the NFL as a whole, it’s individual teams, and their billionaire owners, that are keeping Kaepernick out of the league. I’m not one to miss any opportunity to level criticism against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but this situation isn’t exactly his fault.

Regardless, it’s notable that Jay-Z just straight up said no to the NFL as opposed to maybe working a civil rights message into any performance. At the 2016 Super Bowl, Jay’s wife Beyonce unleashed a powerful performance dressed in all black leather, paying homage to the Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter movement.

The NFL has some serious PR problems on its hands. Between the Kaepernick fiasco, the ugly Ezekiel Elliott saga, and more scientific studies about the dangers of the game, Roger Goodell has a constant stream of new headaches to deal with.

Yes, I will be tuning in on Sunday but it does feel like this is a solid and deserved dose of karma for Goodell and the powers that be at the NFL.