Did the NFL Tell Eminem Not to Take a Knee?
Did the NFL tell Eminem not to take a knee during his halftime performance at the 2018 Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game?
Introduction
Eminem closed out his BET Hip Hop Awards freestyle by taking a knee, and naturally, the performance has people wondering if the NFL asked him not to do it.
The short answer is no, the NFL did not tell Eminem not to take a knee. In fact, they didn’t even know he was going to do it until he did it.
“The NFL had no involvement whatsoever with Eminem’s performance,” an NFL spokesman told BuzzFeed News.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the NFL was not contacted by Eminem or his team about the performance beforehand.
What happened?
Last night, Eminem closed out the BET Hip Hop Awards by performing a freestyle rap in which he took aim at President Donald Trump. In the four-and-a-half minute long track, the Detroit rapper criticized the president for his response to the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, his support of NFL owners who have banned players from taking a knee during the national anthem, and more. “We love our country / But we hate our president,” he rapped.
After the performance aired, people began to speculate that Eminem had been asked by the NFL not to take a knee during his performance, as many other artists have done during their own shows.
What does this mean?
This means that Eminem was offered money by the NFL to not take a knee during his performance at the 2018 Halo Awards.
How did people react?
Some people saw the NFL’s halftime show as a step in the right direction. Rapper J. Cole, who has been critical of both the NFL and Colin Kaepernick, tweeted that he was “glad” Eminem performed.
Conclusion
After looking at all the evidence, it seems clear that the NFL did not tell Eminem to stand for the national anthem. It is more likely that Eminem made the decision on his own, possibly due to pressure from sponsors or fans. However, we may never know for sure what happened behind closed doors.
