While Jay-Z has come out to announce he’s made a major move collaborating with the NFL on several business endeavors, music producer Irv Gotti said he thinks his longtime friend is instead being “used like a pawn.”
— Jay-Z defends NFL deal with Roc Nation, talks Kaepernick—
“To sit there and watch Jay talk [at the NFL meeting] while Roger Goodell is sitting there quiet, it almost looks like the NFL manufactured and manipulated Jay to be the front and face of the bulls–t, knowing Jay is so powerful that he can make people forget about [Kaepernick and others] kneeling.”
Ouch.
Jay-Z hasn’t been able to shake the critics off and ignited a fierce debate from fans, athletes and celebrities after he made a deal to sign on to co-produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show and rumors are now swirling that he will potentially have an ownership stake in an NFL team.
Many took to social media to criticize Jay and find it problematic that he would possibly undermine Colin Kaepernick and all that he’s laid on the line to raise awareness about police brutality by not including him in any conversations with the NFL.
Gotti who calls Jay “my brother” said while it was “a brilliant move for the NFL” the rapper might have been exploited, Page Six reports.
“If it was a masterminded plan, then you just used Hov for a masterminded plan and made him look like a pawn in this whole f–king thing,” The Murder Inc. CEO said.
Jay does have some industry supporters like Cardi B, who said recently that she believes Jay will make a difference.
—Did Colin Kaepernick take a subtle jab at Jay-Z’s ‘moved past kneeling’ criticism?—
“I think that he can make a change,” she explains. “I don’t think he went [in] on an NFL deal without an agreement…I feel like he went in there like, ‘Alright, if y’all want me to work with y’all, y’all need to bring my peoples in there.’ ”
We’ll wait and see too.
“Growing Up Hip Hop: New York,” premieres Aug. 29 on WE TV.