Many football players, especially Kaepernick, put their careers on the line to protest injustice in our community. Yet even today, Kaepernick has not been signed by a NFL team despite having achieved better statistics and greater success than many quarterbacks who are currently playing in the NFL. Eric Reid’s response to Jay Z was, “It looks like your goal was to make millions and millions of dollars by assisting the NFL in burying Colin’s career.” Yet Hov says, “I think we’ve moved past kneeling. I think it’s time for action.”

Similar to Charlamagne, we see significant merit to both positions. Jay’s proposed NFL entertainment deal provides a worldwide forum for Hov to showcase Black American culture, talent, and sophistication and promote social justice. This action enhances Black Americans worldwide brand as cultural and social influencers, which is a very good thing. Also, it puts Hov on the inside, which can be very advantageous for instituting change.

We also admire and applaud Eric Reid for being a true hero for us, he is symbolically the Last Man Standing. He continues to selflessly sacrifice himself for our civil and economic rights. We’re also thankful for businessmen like Jay-Z, who can get an organization of the scale and scope of the NFL to come to the table and negotiate in meaningful ways that yes, benefits Jay-Z, but also benefits our community. So, let’s salute these two brothers who in their own substantive ways are heroes among us.