NFL Denies Being Defied by Eminem’s Colin Kaepernick Gesture: ‘We Were Aware’

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Eminem took a knee on stage during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show to honor shunned quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the league claims they were aware it was going to occur.

The gesture was rumored to be in defiance of the NFL’s wishes, but following the game, the league pushed back on that report.

“Report was erroneous,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that.”

Hours before Super Bowl LVI kicked off between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, Eriq Gardner of Puck News reported the NFL “nixed a plan by Eminem to kneel, Colin Kaepernick-style.” The same report claimed Eminem’s request was denied by the NFL because they wanted to avoid a “divisive culture war moment.”

When Eminem went ahead and took a knee on live TV despite the report, it created a social media firestorm. NBC cameras remained on the rap star for more than 30 seconds during the gesture.

The NFL claims they didn’t deny Eminem the ability to kneel on the sport’s biggest stage, but they certainly didn’t support Kaepernick when he launched the protest and knelt during the national anthem in 2016.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has since apologized to Kaepernick, stating the league was wrong for not encouraging players to speak out and peacefully protest. Kaepernick never received a serious contract offer from an NFL team after he took a knee; we’ll see if Eminem ever gets invited back.