Rapper Cardi B is optimistic about Jay-Z’s new deal with the NFL.
TMZ caught up with Cardi outside the Bryant Park Hotel over the weekend, where she told paparazzi that she believes Jay could bring much-needed change to the organization.
“I think that he could make a change, you know what I’m saying? I feel like he didn’t [get] an NFL deal without an agreement,” she said. “I feel like he went in there like, ‘Alright, if you guys want me to work with y’all, y’all need to put my people in here. Y’all need to do things my way.’ I feel like he’s gonna change it.”
Cardi also added that she believes Jay could bring former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick back into the league. Over the weekend, Kaepernick urged NFL players and activists to continue taking a knee.
“I feel like Jay-Z can bring back Colin Kaepernick,” Cardi said. “I feel so…I feel like he has that power. I feel like Jay-Z can do it.”
However, Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, who began kneeling during the national anthem shortly after Kaepernick, has a different opinion of the deal.
Reid told reporters Saturday, “Jay-Z claimed to be a supporter of Colin, wore his jersey, told people not to perform at the Super Bowl because of [what] the NFL did to Colin. Now he’s going to be a part owner, that’s kind of despicable.”
Last week, Jay said during a press conference at Roc Nation’s New York office, “I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice so in that case this is a success — this is the next thing. There’s two parts of protest: the protest, and then there’s a company or individual saying ‘I hear you, what do we do next?’ For me it’s about actionable items, what are we gonna do about it? We get stuck on Colin not having a job, you know what I’m saying? And this is more than that.”