A lot was said of Eminem taking his knee during the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.
Did the NFL know about it? Did Eminem do it against the wishes of the NFL? Does it matter?
Dr. Dre addressed the topic in an interview with TMZ on Monday when asked if the NFL “has any say” in the decision. Provide an answer. But he did not address the question.
“There were a few things we had to change, but they were really secondary things.” Em’ took to his knee, and this was Em’ doing it alone. There was no problem with that. “
Well, that doesn’t really explain anything.
Soon after Eminem took his knee as Colin Kaepernick, rumors swirled on social media that he had done so against the wishes of the NFL. League spokesman Brian McCarthy tried to shut down the rumours With a statement to a Sports Illustrated reporter and former NFL network employee Albert Breer.
“The report was wrong,” McCarthy said. “We saw all the elements of the show during several training sessions this week.”
McCarthy’s statement also failed to address whether or not the NFL had explicitly signed off on Eminem’s protest movement. It’s better for the league to leave things vague and move on.
The rumored premise was a stretch to begin with, suggesting that Eminem reached out to the NFL for permission to kneel and was told no – and then did it anyway. Why would Eminem ask for permission instead of doing it, you know?
Which brings us to the most likely scenario. It’s possible that Eminem did it instead of going through an official application process and then ignoring the league’s wishes. Because what would the NFL have done about it when he was on stage, even if he didn’t like the league leaders?
Once done, it’s done. And the NFL, which is constantly changing its stance from kneeling to meet the widest possible call, would prefer that we all go forward.