by Alex Poletti

Rap magnate Jay-Z has come under fire recently for his “entertainment and social justice” partnership with the NFL. One player to question Jay-Z is Kenny Stills of the Miami Dolphins, who claims that “he’s never been on a knee,” despite the rapper’s cute and heavily publicized mock proposal to Beyoncé on the 2014 Met Gala red carpet.

“I understand Kenny’s criticism, I really do,” commissioner Roger Goodell, who still thinks it’s cool to call players by their first name, says. “But saying he’s never been on a knee is an ignorant comment, given the media reaction to the Met Gala gaff turned romantic moment.”

During the 2014 Met Gala, the pop culture power couple both wore Givenchy Haute Couture outfits, with Queen Bey sporting a sizeable ring on her right hand. When the ring fell off, the doting husband went to retrieve it and enacted a proposal. The event took the media by storm.

“Honestly, if Kenny Stills took his head out of his social justice-loving ass and started focusing on the things that really matter, then he would’ve known that what he said was completely inaccurate,” Fox News personality Sean Hannity says.

Some have argued that Stills was trying to say Jay-Z never protested alongside NFL players, nor did he speak with the people involved in the movement before making statements that the league had “moved past kneeling,” bringing into question the legitimacy of his motives for forming this partnership. However, there’s no doubt that Stills’ words were unfortunate, given the favorable press surrounding the 2014 incident. Quick to be a diplomat, however, Jay-Z responded to Stills’ criticism.

“Look man, I’m just trying to own the Super Bowl halftime show,” the Tidal service owner says.

Leaders of the NFL’s protest movement quickly came to back the Miami wide receiver. Panthers safety Eric Reid, an outspoken advocate for social reform, also criticized Jay-Z’s new partnership, labelling it “disingenuous.” Colin Kaepernick tweeted his support for Stills as well; however, Stills quickly asked the free agent to remove the post.

“Look man, I still want to work,” Stills said to Kaepernick, according to sources close to the story. “Are you trying to get us both blacklisted? Get out of here, man.”

Fellow Dolphins wide receiver Albert Wilson II also voiced his support for Stills. However, Wilson is not nearly good enough to be featured in this story.