Colin Kaepernick, the ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback who’s caught up in a political hurricane, has had his name scrubbed from a song on the soundtrack of Madden NFL 19. The song, Big Bank by YG, has various profanities which have been digitally edited out in order to maintain the American football game’s age rating – but also among the words censored is the 30-year-old QB’s name.
The player was the first to start NFL protests against racial injustice in the United States by kneeling during the National Anthem prior to matches. He opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017 and has been without a team ever since, despite the fact that he could probably walk in to several rosters.
EA Sports, to its credit, has said that it “messed up” and will correct the mistake with a patch prior to release next week. “Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don't have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn't affect soundtracks,” a spokesperson said. “We meant no disrespect, and we apologize to Colin, to YG and Big Sean, to the NFL, to all of their fans, and our players for this mistake.”
It’s a reasonable response from the publisher, but we can’t help but wonder whether this really was a mistake or if it was a result of pressure from the NFL itself. Kaepernick, after all, is currently engaged in a legal battle with the organisation, who he believes is strong-arming other teams into not signing him.
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 17
Jesus Colin, you really did this to yourself. Many times protests come with consequences, and this is yours. Don’t point the finger at other people when your the one that shot himself on the foot.
@Kidfried I doubt its an honest mistake, by I don't think it's an EA as a whole mistake. But somebody or a few people felt like it should be censored.
@NintendoFan4Lyf ea don't have the rights to me, but if my name is mentioned on a song, I doubt its censored.
@thatguyEZ So he shouldn't use his position to amplify his opinion? I don't think he deserves to be blacklisted by the league personally, and that's clearly what's happened.
@thatguyEZ protest is MEANT to come with consequences; the consequences of change for the better.
Many of CK's peers joined him in his peaceful, lawful, respectful protest. They can still get a game.
@RogerRoger Fair enough, I just wanted to include another possibility. But you're right, it's perfectly plausible that it was just an oversight, and like you say, it's going to get rectified next week anyway.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Right Colin?
@Kidfried He doesn't have a team because he's damaged goods. Because he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut anything he does reflects on the team when he puts on that uniform When he puts on that uniform he represtns the team and the NFL whether he wants to other not people just see it like that. It would be like me putting on a McDonalds uniform and goose stepping while saluting on a video or what not. You'd think McDonalds is going to want me representing them?
Part of the reason today is people cannot separate an individual from an organization. Just because one works for something like Disney, NFL etc doesnt mean they dont have there own thoughts, ideas etc.
@Tasuki You seem to be contradicting yourself.
@KALofKRYPTON How so??
@Tasuki But he didn't step on geese, did he? He used his position to make a point that people want to close their ears to. There's certainly a view that he should just shut his mouth and play football, but... That's wrong IMO.
The NFL is a big proponent of players contributing locally to their communities, they even have that end of season award for it. Now obviously what Kaepernick did is miles away from packing groceries and raising money for charity, but I still believe his intention was to use his position for positive change.
I don't think he deserves to be blacklisted for it.
@Tasuki
Your first and second paragraphs seem like you're coming at it form both angles.
Put on the uniform and tow the line/everyone is individual type thing.
One of the (admittedly few) things I really like about America is the way they do pro-sports; specifically, a pro has to get educated. I'm not keen on the franchising model etc, but the requirement of getting sports an education is brilliant. They should do the same with football.
Kaepernick being blacklisted and genuinely hated by a decent percentage of NFL fans is one of those things that I will simply never understand.
@get2sammyb It was how he went about it that was wrong. While yes he did have an important message you don't say it while stepping on the toes of others.
Kaepernick doesn't deserve being blacklisted, but that is the price you pay when you combat hatred.
@roe @get2sammyb whilst I agree that his actions should not blacklist him. Kapernick was a sub-par player whose only claim to fame is a protest which caused the NFL to lose a lot of money.
He may have gained some fame with the Trump haters, but to football fans he was just an annoyance. I am an American Football fan. I’m not American so bending the knee doesn’t offend me. But when all you hear about is someone who doesn’t even play, but gets tons of publicity for a stunt, it isn’t what we watch the game for. It would be like a substitute for Liverpool getting all the headlines in the league and yet he only gets on the pitch for five minutes in the entire season and no one knew his name before he pulled the stunt.
He isn’t signed because he is a bad player. He pulled his stunt because he couldn’t get headlines otherwise.
@Kidfried should probably stand for national anthem out of respect. I'm from US and I think what he did was disrespectful. There are better ways to send a message. And he's really not that great of a quarterback. He's a awesome athlete, kinda like Micheal Vick.
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