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Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium
Kaepernick Freestyle Misses Mark, NFL Didn’t Silence Him
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Jay-Z is spitting fiction, not facts, when he claims Colin Kaepernick agreed to be silenced by the NFL … an allegation Jay dropped live on stage at Yankee Stadium, and one refuted by sources speaking to TMZ Sports.
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The moment came during Jay’s Friday night opener … in a freestyle rap aimed at his critics, he said, “They run out of characters, had to bring back up Kap again. Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him, but along with that check you have to sign a non disparagement. I’m the one they can’t control.”
The shot at Kaepernick — 7 years after he and the NFL reached a settlement — had some fans wondering, “why now?” But, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Sports, the bigger issue is Jay’s wrong … Colin did not sign a non-disparagement agreement when he settled the lawsuit in which he’d claimed NFL teams were colluding to keep him out of the league.
1,363 days of being denied employment.
Still putting in work with @E_Reid35
Still going hard 5 days a week. #StillReady#StopRunning pic.twitter.com/iMeJ03IRuB
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We’re told no such clause was included in the 2019 deal Colin signed, and there are plenty of receipts to back that up — namely, social media posts where the former QB has remained critical of NFL teams for not hiring him.
As one source put it, “Colin couldn’t post about how many days it’s been since a team hired him,” if he’d agreed not to say anything bad about the NFL.
As for the “why now” part? It’s possible CK was on Jay’s mind because, as we reported Friday — prior to Jay’s concert — Colin and Tyler Perry are paying for funeral services and a private autopsy for Nolan Wells … the Mississippi teen who died last week under mysterious circumstances.
If it’s not that, it’s just puzzling why he’d raise the Colin topic again. Yes, there were lots of people openly criticizing Jay-Z when Roc Nation got into biz with the NFL — producing the Super Bowl Halftime shows — because they felt like he sold out Kaepernick, who he had publicly supported back when the kneeling controversy exploded.
However, all that talk’s died down after nearly a decade of water under the bridge … making the jab at Colin even more of a head-scratcher, and especially because the rest of the show has been lauded for its surprise performers, including Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Eminem, Usher, Nas and Pharrell Williams.
Of course, Kaepernick and the NFL’s deal does prevent both sides from revealing the terms of the settlement. We reached out to Jay’s camp, but no word back.
