Eminem took a stand against the NFL by taking a knee during the Super Bowl 56 halftime show between the Rams and Bengals.
Shortly after the rapper concluded his individual performance of “Lose Yourself,” he knelt to the ground in reported defiance of the NFL’s wishes. A Puck.com article detailing the behind-the-scenes battle between Dr. Dre and the NFL suggested the league nixed a plan by Eminem to kneel, a la Colin Kaepernick.
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Per the article (subscription required):
That line harkens to Dre’s time as leader of N.W.A., when the seminal hip-hop group released the controversial song, ‘F— Tha Police.’ At one point, the NFL told Dre he couldn’t say the line at all, but as of this writing, Dre is optimistic that ‘police’ might make the cut of ‘accepted’ lyrics. Meanwhile, the league nixed a plan by Eminem to kneel, Colin Kaepernick-style. Organizers also flagged something that Snoop Dogg was set to wear as possibly appearing gang-related. (Asked about new limitations placed on halftime performers, a spokesperson for the league did not respond).
Regardless of what the NFL did or did not approve, Eminem knelt. Dre’s line of “still not loving police,” another contested line, was also included in the halftime show:
Eminem taking a knee for Kaepernick? pic.twitter.com/T4p3vOHBUC
— The Recount (@therecount) February 14, 2022
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After the halftime show and Puck’s report, the NFL appears to be refuting the report.
The part of the show were Eminem kneeled? Report stated it was against the wishes of the NFL.
However, NFL spokesman Brian McCarhy told me that report is false. The NFL watched every rehearsal this week and that element was included.
Just passing along.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) February 14, 2022
Eminem, making his first appearance at the Super Bowl, didn’t explicitly say why he chose to kneel during his performance. That said, the artist has been outspoken against racial injustice. He released a single titled “Untouchable” in 2017 that addresses issues of police brutality, racial profiling and systematic racism.
Kaepernick began the practice of kneeling during the playing of the national anthem during the 2016 preseason and throughout the remainder of the year for the 49ers. He has not been signed by another team since the conclusion of the season.
So, you can decide for yourself on which side of the story to believe.
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