Rapper Meek Mill said that critics of former NFL quarterback-turned social justice activist Colin Kaepernick are trying to “lynch his bank account” in a new interview.
According to PageSix, Meek Mill is planning to release a song defending and praising Colin Kaepernick. Remarking on the song, Meek Mill said, “They won’t lynch him by hanging from a tree. They lynch his bank account.”
One of the lyrics from the Philadelphia native rapper’s song reportedly says, “Back in the ’30s you would be killed if you kneeled. They won’t kill you now, they just take you out of the deal.”
Meek Mill has made a name for himself not just as a rapper, but as a criminal justice reform activist. The rapper has had a long history of run-ins with the law, and was sent back to prison on a probation violation last November. He was released in April and has returned to his music career.
Kaepernick’s bank account can’t be all bad — he returned to the public spotlight this month after Nike introduced its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign featuring the former 49er.
The ad campaign uses the slogan, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” alluding to the idea that Kaepernick sacrificed his career by kneeling during the anthem. His Nike endorsement deal, which he signed in 2011, is reportedly worth millions.
Many fans responded to the ad campaign by saying they would boycott Nike or by burning their Nike gear.
Even President Trump weighed in on the issue, tweeting, “Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!”
However, not everyone was dissatisfied with Nike’s decision to feature Kaepernick — the company’s stock reached a record high following the ad’s release.
The NFL meanwhile is still struggling with the shadow that Kaepernick left. Some players are continuing to kneel during the national anthem, and stadiums are struggling to fill all the seats.
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