Hip-hop artist Jay-Z held a joint press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday announcing an entertainment and social awareness partnership between the two sides.
Said partnership was first reported on Tuesday, but they made it official one day later.
In talking about any potential involvement of free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Jay-Z stopped short of commitment.
“You’ll have to ask him, I’m not his boss,” the mogul said, via Variety. “That’s for him to say.”
One might have expected a stronger stand from Jay-Z here, especially considering that the 2016 National Antem protests Kaepernick led has created substantial change. At the very least, a conversation is now being continued.
Jay-Z did offer his support for Kaepernick and the quarterback’s protests.
“I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice so in that case this is a success,” Jay-Z said.
For some, a partnership without Kaepernick’s involvement would ring hollow. He’s the face of the social injustice protest around the sports world, and has been for some time.
Kaepernick did file a grievance against the NFL, claiming that teams and the league colluded against him. The two sides ultimately came to an undisclosed financial agreement.
As for Goodell, he was asked directly whether Kaepernick has been blackballed, at which point the commissioner offered a deadpan response claming that “any team” can sign him.