As Colin Kaepernick refuses to duck the smoke on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast, he again addresses JAY-Z’s Yankee Stadium freestyle, and he explains why he first took a knee in 2020.
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On the latest episode of the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Kaep continues to tell his truth.
He talks first-ever taking a knee during the BLM movement and how it deeply affected his NFL career. Kaep recalls why he took a knee, what it meant, and the fallout in the aftermath. This included him “being blackballed.”
While again addressing JAY-Z’s viral Yankee Stadium freestyle — taking shots at Kaep — the ousted NFL baller asked, “What are you trying to accomplish?” He also claimed JAY-Z and his Roc Nation Sports sector “tried to recruit” him.
Kaep continued to recall a phone call he apparently got from Hov. He said the rapper had told him about the NFL partnership. Subsequently, the ousted baller told him, “You’re selling the culture out to a bunch of racists.” Hov allegedly replied, “Well, the ink’s dry.”
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As we previously shared, JAY-Z appeared to take shots at Colin Kaepernick during his three-night concert series at Yankee Stadium in July. During a freestyle, Hov said:
“They run out of characters, had to bring back up Kaep again / Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him / But along with that check you gotta sign a non-disparagement / I’m the one they [the NFL] can’t control, y’all better be glad it’s him / Half a billion back in the community, that’s just good math for him / I don’t listen to Twitter activists, they type and I laugh at them / It’s really no comparison, y’all check my stats again / I’m bringin’ folks home to they family, laws get passed ’cause him [JAY-Z] / You can like it or not, we don’t do no a** kissing.”
Kaepernick appeared to first respond in an NBC News interview. He suggested Hov had a “guilty conscience.”
“The backlash that [JAY-Z] received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026. People are now realizing, ‘Why are you so comfortable stepping into these positions that are counter to the positions that people on the ground actually want?’ And to me, I view that as speaking to a guilty conscience and trying to reposition or reframe the conversation. I haven’t publicly spoken about him in any matter, but it speaks to the level of impact that people are having and being able to continue to move not only individuals but corporations. He is another player. He has built the alignment with the NFL, the NFL that has blackballed me, the same NFL that, in a players-owners meeting in 2017, said we need a Black face to help us get rid of the protests. I understand why he’s trying to do reputational recovery. I get it. I don’t agree with the actions, but I’m also not gonna respond to everything that’s said about me, because I also believe the actions and the work that I do will speak for themselves.”
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