Back in 2016, Colin Kaepernick initiated a silent protest against police brutality, social injustices, and oppression of people of color in the United States, in his refusal to stand for the National Anthem. The protests sparked a widespread movement but also garnered widespread backlash by the misinformed, who called the protests unpatriotic and disrespectful of the American flag, national anthem, the police, and the military.
But now, in the wake of the protests, a movement to boycott the NFL has erupted over the league’s attempt to punish players who exercise their rights to free speech, in addition to its continued efforts to keep Kaepernick out of a job.
Not only have regular consumers turned off their televisions on Football Sunday, but several celebrities have also joined the movement to boycott. In fact, others have taken the movement a step further, in declining to take part in the biggest night in sports: The Super Bowl.
Last year, as part of the initial boycott over the league’s handling of the National Anthem controversy, Jay-Z declined to perform at the Super Bowl. Now, as the controversy continues, other entertainers have followed suit, including Rihanna who declined to take the big stage and Amy Schumer, who declined to take part in any Super Bowl commercials.
However, one artist believes his peers are going about the situation all wrong.
In a recent interview with TMZ, Atlanta-native Jermaine Dupri opened up about the boycott, and how he believes his peers could have used the opportunity to promote their cause on one of the biggest platforms in sports.
“Boycotts and marches don’t seem like they work to me, I’m sorry. I think they should send a message while they’re onstage, take advantage of your platform,” Dupri said of the boycott, as he acknowledged it to be another way to take advantage of one’s platform. “But, it seems really interesting to me because we’re in an industry where you see so many people do things like boycott one year and the next year they’re buddy-buddy with the thing they boycotted.”
“The more people speak on it, the more they talk about it, then the more people feel like it’s something they have to address. I feel like people ignore boycotts,” he continued.
