Last night, Super Bowl LIV saw the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Kansas City Chiefs. Power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce made headlines when they decided to remain seated during Demi Lovato singing the national anthem . Now, Colin Kaepernick has responded, in a manner of speaking, to the gesture made by the rap mogul.
The 49ers are the former team of the NFL quarterback-turned-political activist. Besides leading them to a Super Bowl appearance, he gained notoriety by famously taking a knee during the national anthem before games. As covered by The Inquisitr , Jay-Z and Beyonce did not stand during the anthem, and now some have questioned their motives.
Miko Grimes, the wife of Tampa Bay Buccaneer Brent Grimes, is known for being outspoken against the NFL. She saw TMZ’s story on the Carters’ choice to sit during the anthem and posted a screenshot of the headline along with the caption, “I thought we were ‘past kneeling’ tho [sic]?”
Both Kaepernick and his girlfriend, radio personality Nessa Diab re-posted Grimes’ Instagram story, in which they were tagged.
Jay-Z partnered with the NFL last year, which gave him influence over the Super Bowl halftime show’s musical acts. This has caused backlash as some believe this is a betrayal to Kaepernick, who has not found a team in the NFL after taking a knee during the national anthem.
Over the weekend, The New York Times published a lengthy interview with the rapper, and he addressed the rift with the former NFL quarterback.
“We are two adult men who disagree on the tactic but are marching for the same cause,” he told the publication.
As reported by The Denver Post , Jay-Z had a press conference after his NFL partnership was announced, and he spoke about his decision to work with the league.
“I think we’re past kneeling. I think it’s time to go into our actionable items. Everyone knows what the issue is. We’re dealing with that. You know why we were kneeling? We all know the issue now,” the Roc Nation honcho said.
Afterward, Jay-Z added he was “not minimizing” what Kaepernick’s actions have done to raise awareness and said this was not about the quarterback not being in the NFL. As reported by The Inquisitr , the one-time 49er was offered a workout for the league last year, but he decided to hold his own workout instead.
Instead of watching his former team play last night, TMZ reports that Kaepernick was busy giving back to the community. He was spotted at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, and later was seen volunteering to serve food to the less fortunate.
Editor’s note: this post has been edited for clarity to reflect that Kaepernick reshared Miko Grimes’ Instagram story.