Jay-Z reacts before Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Source: Steph Chambers / Getty
The NFL has made it clear that the partnership between Jay-Z, Roc Nation and the NFL still stands.
Recently, Jay-Z was accused in a civil lawsuit of assaulting a 13-year-old girl with Diddy back in 2000. The New York legend quickly came out with a response to the accusations saying in part, “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.”
At a press conference in Irving, Texas, on Wednesday, Goodell talked about the league’s connection with the rapper born Shawn Carter and Roc Nation. Emphasizing that the relationship between the NFL and Roc Nation proceeds, Goodell said that “is not changing… including our preparations for the next Super Bowl. We are aware of the civil allegations and Jay Z’s really strong response to that. We know obviously that litigation is happening. But from our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparations for the next Super Bowl.”
The NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z has made the Super Bowl Halftime performances much more entertaining. Having artists such as Rihanna, Dr. Dre, The Weeknd and now for this year’s Super Bowl, Hip-Hop’s ”MVP” Kendrick Lamar. Many fans wanted Lil Wayne to perform at this year’s Super Bowl because it was held in New Orleans, his hometown. Despite the ups and downs, Lamar is coming off a successful year and is riding high after the release of his critically acclaimed project, GNX.
The deal between Roc Nation and the NFL was first cemented in 2019 and sparked questions about Jay-Z’s alliance with Goodell and the professional football league, both of whom have been considered by social justice advocates and activists to be among the so-called enemies targeted by Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest of police killing Black people that effectively blackballed the Super Bowl quarterback from ever playing again.
The Roc Nation-NFL deal was very much announced in the context of social justice, and critics found the glaring absence of Kaepernick’s involvement in the partnership to be at best hypocritical for Jay-Z, who once wore the quarterback’s jersey while performing on Saturday Night Live in an apparent showing of solidarity with the cause.
This is America.
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Lawyer In Jay-Z Rape Claim Accuses Rapper Of Trying To ‘Bully And Harass’ Him, Accuser
