Mariah Carey showed some support for Colin Kaepernick during Super Bowl LV.
On Sunday night (Feb. 7), she tweeted, “Happy Colin Kaepernick Appreciation Day!” during the middle of the game. Her tweet came shortly after the NFL aired a commercial about social justice during one of the breaks. The ad spoke about the importance of diversity to the sport and spoke about the league’s “Inspire Change” initiative, which will commit $250 million over a 10-year period to fight systemic racism.
Kaepernick has remained unsigned since his departure from the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. Many believe the football player was blackballed from the league over his advocacy for the Black Lives Matter movement, which he demonstrated by peacefully protesting during the National Anthem.
Kaepernick later sued the NFL, accusing owners of colluding against him to keep him out of the league. In February 2019, he reached a confidential settlement with the NFL.
The “We Belong Together” singer wasn’t the only person who called the NFL out about their hypocrisy. Kaepernick’s name became a trending topic on social media during the big game. Twitter user @TweetingTina20 tweeted, “The NFL creating a commercial that shows players kneeling, putting ‘Breonna Taylor’ on the back of their helmets, and ends with the league committing $250 million to end systemic racism must have @Kaepernick7 feeling some type of way.”
“I’m sorry, but the NFL can miss me with all the equality commercials — where was this energy for past years and when Colin Kaepernick was living this @NFL? #BlackHistoryMonth. #BlackLivesMatter. We live this. Not just for trends or to avoid lawsuits! BYE,” @mooreTiarah wrote.
Twitter user @daquanthe1st wrote, “Seeing the NFL commercial to donate $250 million to end systematic racism, but thinking about how they did Colin Kapernick for taking a FUCKING KNEE.”
Check out the NFL’s “Inspire Change” commercial below.