Jay-Z And Colin Kaepernick Did Not Speak Prior To Rapper's NFL Deal Announcement, According To Nessa
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for City of Hope
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for City of Hope
UPDATE: Nessa Diab, Colin Kaepernick's girlfriend and a Hot 97 host, criticized Jay-Z while on the air on Wednesday in regards to his deal with the NFL.
A Twitter user shared a series of quotes from when Diab was speaking on the deal on Hot 97.
Read the original story below.
The rapper and entrepreneur said he spoke with the former American football player.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Jay-Z's Roc Nation had partnered with the NFL to help with its social justice endeavors and expand their entertainment offerings. But the partnership has led to the resurfacing of past criticisms Jay made at the NFL in regards to its handling of Colin Kaepernick and his "take a knee" national anthem protest.
READ: Colin Kaepernick Scores Million-Dollar Book Deal
During a press conference about the deal at the Roc Nation offices, Jay responded to questions about Kaepernick alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a report from the Rolling Stone.
"I think that we forget that Colin's whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice, correct?" Jay said. "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."
The 4:44 rapper was also asked if Kaepernick would be involved in the deal.
"You'd have to ask him," Jay said, referring to Kaepernick. "I'm not his boss. I can't just bring him into something. That's for him to say."
"I'm not knocking anything he's doing, and I hope he doesn't knock what I'm doing," he continued. He also said he spoke with Kaepernick prior to announcing the deal.
However, Nessa, Kaepernick's girlfriend, said that Jay and the activist had never spoken ahead of the former's NFL deal being done.
Eric Reid, Kaepernick's former teammate, also spoke out against the deal on Twitter when he responded to a tweet from sports journalist Jemele Hill about if Kaepernick was a part of Jay and the NFL's deal.
Source: Rolling Stone
