“It’s “disappointing and appalling” that Kaepernick’s name was removed from his verse on YG’s “Big Bank,” says rapper Big Sean. The soundtrack to the latest edition of long-running football video game series “Madden” includes YG’s song “Big Bank,” which features Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Nicki Minaj. However, according to multiple people who have early access to the game, Sean’s verse on the song has been edited to remove his reference to Colin Kaepernick. According to videos posted by Polygon and on Twitter (below), the lyric “you boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick” has been changed to omit Kaepernick’s name. “Nobody from my team approved any of this,” Big Sean tweeted, stating that his edited verse on the track is “disappointing and appalling.”
Kaepernick noticed and responded: “Much love brother! Thank you for having my back!”It’s disappointing and appalling @NFL & @EA took @Kaepernick7’s name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word. When he’s not a curse, he’s a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this.
— Sean Don (@BigSean) August 2, 2018
Colin Kaepernick became a polarizing figure after his peaceful protests of racial injustice in the United States, in which he sat and then kneeling during the National Anthem at the beginning of NFL games. Last year saw musicians such as JAY-Z and Stevie Wonder show solidarity with the player during concerts.Much love brother! Thank you for having my back!✊? https://t.co/yKz3nBMiPb
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) August 2, 2018
According to Pro Football Talk, this isn’t the first time it has happened, either.
In last year’s version of the game, released in August 2017, the song Bars of Soap by Mike WiLL Made-It appeared in the soundtrack. One original verse contained the lyrics: “She be hopin’ that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes,” but PFT reported that the words “like Kaepernick” were also removed.
EA Sports responded, saying it would update the game.
“We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack,” EA Sports said Thursday night in a statement. “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. We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. We will make it right, with an update to Madden NFL 19 on August 6 that will include the reference again. 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.”
Gotta love an apology and a smack I guess. As usual, I can’t tell if I’m more upset with EA Games and the NFL or the consistent support of a league that penalizes players for standing up for injustices.]]>
