NFL's blackballing of Kaepernick extends to censorship of his name in Madden NFL 19 soundtrack This is a weird place for the rift between the NFL and Colin Kaepernick to be emphasized. Update (August 3, 2018 @ 11:45AM): EA Sports has apologized for the error, citing a misunderstanding between members of the development team: Hey man, we screwed up plain and simple. Gonna get it fixed right away. pic.twitter.com/cP9lRpy3xL — EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL) August 3, 2018 Original Story: While Colin Kaepernick continues to battle against the NFL, it looks like Madden NFL 2019 is mirroring the real-life turbulent relationship. In a verse by artist Big Sean, Colin Kaepernick is mentioned, but in Madden NFL 2019 that particular lyric is censored. Bleacher Report shared the find, which comes from Twitter user @jeanclervil: 🗣“You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick” Wait, did Madden bleep out Kap? 🤔 (via @jeanclervil) pic.twitter.com/mzQ6u0QpNb — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 2, 2018 Considering Madden 2019's E for Everyone rating, it stands to reason that foul language will be blocked out of the licensed music utilized in the game's soundtrack. To bleep out a person's name, though, is strange. It arguably does more harm than just including the lyric, which is simply a creative move from an artist and not some sort of representation of Kaepernick in the game. For those unfamiliar, Colin Kaepernick is the NFL quarterback that utilized his platform as an athlete to speak out about injustices in the US. One specific aspect of his protests is kneeling during the National Anthem before the start of a football game. He originally sat during the anthem, but, after consulting with US Army veteran Nate Boyer, started kneeling instead. Various NFL owners and fans took issue with his kneeling, ignoring the circumstances around it. Further, owners worked with players other than Kaepernick on middle-ground solutions while Kaepernick continued kneeling, creating programs like the Know Your Rights camp, and more. To this day, the NFL and NFL Players Association have reached a standstill on a policy surrounding kneeling and Colin Kaepernick continues to not be employed in the NFL. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.<doc-sep>Could the deletion of Colin Kaepernick’s name from a song that appears in Madden 19 help Kaepernick prove that he was a victim of NFL collusion? Madden 19, the latest edition of EA’s best-selling John Madden Football video game franchise, will be available to consumers on August 10. EA says that it will update the game on August 6 to correct an error first noticed by author Jean Clervil while seeing an advanced copy of the game. On Thursday, Clervil tweeted, “bad enough @Kaepernick7 still not signed, but now they even edit his name out in this year’s @EAMaddenNFL during @BigSean verse, smh.” As Clervil explained, EA removed reference to Kaepernick in YG’s song “Big Bank”. The removal was similar to how the company eradicated curse words from Big Bank and other songs that appear on the game. Such a coincidence seemingly denigrates Kaepernick, as it equates his name with that of a curse word. In the non-edited version of “Big Bank”, Big Sean sings the following lyrics: Feed me to the wolves, now I lead the pack and s--- You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick I'm rare as affordable health care (oh God) Or going to wealth from welfare (Goddamn) EA’s correction will restore the phrase “I’m more Colin Kaepernick” to the song. EA has apologized to Kaepernick, YG and Big Sean. The company attributes the scrubbing of Kaepernick’s name to an “unfortunate mistake.” The mistake, as EA explains it, stems from the fact that Kaepernick won’t appear in the game as a player because he remains unsigned and is not identified as an available free agent. EA says it “messed up” in construing the absence of Kaepernick as an available avatar to mean that the video game publisher was also barred from using Kaepernick’s name in any published songs. EA Sports Calls Taking Colin Kaepernick's Name Out of Madden 19 Song 'Unfortunate Mistake' As EA acknowledges, there was no legal reason to exclude Kaepernick’s name in a song. The songs that appear on Madden 19 contain references to various people and things. It is well within the basic rights of intellectual property law for songs to mention public figures without the need for those persons to grant consent or be compensated. EA, the second-largest gaming company in the Americas and Europe, and one that generated more than $5.1 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2018, is well aware of that. EA claims that it simply, and innocently, fumbled on Kaepernick. One complicating factor for EA in its explanation is that Kaepernick’s name was also removed from the lyrics of a song that appeared in Madden 18, which was released in August 2017, and yet a playable avatar for Kaepernick was available in that game. As reported by Mike Florio and others, the song “Bars of Soap” by Mike WiLL Made-It is edited by EA to remove “like Kaepernick” from the line "She be hopin’ that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes." The same mistake two years in a row arguably seems less like a fumble and more like a play. Potential legal remedies for YG and Big Sean There are several legal angles to this controversy, and they center on contractual rights. First, consider YG, Big Sean and the music companies (4Hunnid Records, CTE World and Def Jam Recordings) involved in the publishing of the song “Big Bank” and its accompanying album, “Stay Dangerous”. These parties could conceivably argue that EA, and possibly the NFL, violated the terms of the license to publish “Big Bank” on Madden 19. It’s worth noting that Big Sean tweeted on Thursday that “nobody” from his “team” approved the change. He also expressed outrage about the implication of scrubbing Kaepernick’s name. Big Sean says the decision implies that EA regards Kaepernick, who he regards as a “gift”, as akin to an obscenity. If the artists and record companies proceeded with a legal argument, they would contend that the removal of Kaepernick’s name breached the conditions for song editing as specified in the relevant licensing contracts. Licensing contracts normally contemplate how music is used and the degree to which songs can be altered upon publication; whether removal of Kaepernick’s name was legally permissible depends on the wording of the licensing contracts. These parties could also consider a claim for tortious interference with prospective economic advantage. An assertion of tortious interference would proclaim that misuse of “Big Bank” damages the song’s reputation in the eyes of consumers and artists. Such misuse could potentially interfere with the song and album’s sales, as well as damage opportunities for licensing deals connected to other products. These are very much theoretical legal arguments. In reality, potential legal arguments are unlikely to materialize in the form of a lawsuit. While EA can be rightfully criticized for making a mistake, it’s worth noting that EA immediately moved to apologize and also correct its mistake. Such behavior not only exhibits a responsible and sensible response, but since the mistake lasted so briefly—and will be fixed before the game is released—EA’s response would make it more difficult for YG and Big Sean to show they have been meaningfully damaged. In fact, it could even be argued that media attention now being devoted to the song “Big Bank” and the “Stay Dangerous” album—an album that, coincidentally, is being released today—could boost sales and provide more money to those with a financial stake in the song and album. Why White House Rescinding Invitation to Eagles Could Boost Colin Kaepernick’s Collusion Case Potential legal remedies for Kaepernick EA’s short-lived deletion of Kaepernick’s name from Madden 19 could become a relevant fact in Kaepernick’s collusion grievance. Since October 2017, Kaepernick has pursued a collusion grievance against the NFL. Per Article 17 of the collective bargaining agreement, Kaepernick must convince a neutral arbitrator (University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephen Burbank) by a clear preponderance of the evidence that two or more teams, or the league and at least one team, conspired to deprive Kaepernick of the right to sign with a team. Kaepernick will need to produce evidence. Whether such evidence is an owner or general manager’s admission during sworn testimony, a suspicious text exchange between player personnel directors on two teams, an implicating audio recording of two head coaches or one of many other kinds of possible evidence, it must verify Kaepernick’s claim that there is a conspiracy to keep him out of the NFL. Mark Geragos, Ben Meiselas and other attorneys for Kaepernick have advanced a theory that owners agreed to exclude Kaepernick because of those owners’ fear of President Donald Trump. Trump has been a staunch critic of Kaepernick and other NFL players who kneel during the playing of the national anthem. Owners are aware that Trump wields enormous power and influence as President, and that Trump has repeatedly chastised NFL owners over this particular controversy. This theory is not merely conjecture. In fact, it is grounded in actual events: As revealed in leaked tapes of an October 2017 meeting in New York City involving owners, league officials and players, a number of owners openly worry over what Trump could do to the league as an expression of his hostility toward kneeling players. In June, the President disinvited the Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles from the White House because of his ongoing frustration over NFL players and the national anthem. Also, during his political rallies, Trump has frequently ridiculed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and other NFL officials over their handling of the national anthem controversy. Kaepernick’s attorneys have used the arbitration discovery process to depose Goodell and a group of owners and team executives. The attorneys have done so to ascertain whether there have been any communications between and among the league and teams about Kaepernick, who has been a free agent since March 2017. The discovery process also empowers Kaepernick’s attorneys to request records from the league and teams.<doc-sep>Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Colin Kaepernick could go unsigned for the second straight NFL season since he began protesting police brutality and inequality by kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 season. He was also temporarily absent from Madden NFL 19. A video posted on Twitter early Thursday morning appeared to show the game had edited out the part of Big Sean's verse that mentions Kaepernick on YG's "Big Bank," which is on the game's soundtrack. EA Sports typically edits sensitive or vulgar content from games to keep its E Rating. Big Sean's original verse reads, "You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick." In the video posted, only Kaepernick's name is edited from the verse. EA Sports would eventually release a statement explaining what happened (via ESPN's Darren Rovell): "We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack. Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks. We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. We will make it right, with an update to Madden NFL 19 on August 6 that will include the reference again. We meant no disrespect, and we apologize to Colin, to YG and Big Sean, to the NFL, to all of their fans and our players for this mistake." Kaepernick's girlfriend, radio personality Nessa, tweeted out the video and called the move "shady." Video Play Button Videos you might like A source close to YG told TMZ Sports that the rapper was unaware of the censoring, is "not happy" and wanted the song played unedited in the game.<doc-sep>
Menu music is the parsley of sports video gaming, but Madden NFL 19’s served up quite a spicy dish on its Windows PC launch day when a song referencing Colin Kaepernick had the name blanked out in the game. Kaepernick, of course, is the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began demonstrating against police brutality and racial discrimination by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, the last year of his contract with the team. Other players joined him, including last year, when the kneeling controversy intensified and Kaepernick found no team willing to sign him. He has since filed a collusion grievance against the league. “Big Bank,” featuring 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj is part of the 31-song “EA Trax” soundtrack that has been a staple of the game for about 15 years. It is heavily censored, as many hip-hop songs in numerous sports video games have been for about a decade. It features this line, by Big Sean: “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick.” Here’s how it sounds in the official version: And here’s how it sounds in Madden NFL 19: A Twitter user (as seen by The Sporting News) pointed out there was a song (“Bars of Soap” featuring Swae Lee, by Mike WiLL Made-It) referencing Kaepernick in last year’s game too, and that was scrubbed out as well. They been deleted my tweets for the this for the longest @EAMaddenNFL did it in #madden18 as well when @Kaepernick7 name become a cuss word pic.twitter.com/6t2WoGrEXX — JaYLeel Starks (@YourAnAssholex2) August 2, 2018 This is important because Colin Kaepernick appeared in Madden NFL 18, in the game’s free agent pool, even though he went unsigned for the whole season in real life. That would seem to refute an excuse that his name was left out of the song in this year’s game because he’s not covered by the group license that entitles EA Sports to use the name and likeness of every active member of the NFL Players Association. Kaepernick does not appear in the free agent pool in Madden NFL 19. Free agent safety Eric Reid, a player who also knelt during the national anthem last year and remains unsigned this year, is in the free agent pool of Madden NFL 19. (He likewise has filed a collusion grievance against the league.) If EA has some kind of legal reasoning for scrubbing Kaepernick’s name (whether to avoid litigation even if it would be fair use), it still fairly raises the question of why the company would include this song in the soundtrack in the first place (including for a second straight year). In 2016, EA Sports ran into a similar controversy over Kaepernick, when a spokesperson said that the new live commentary for Madden NFL 16, now updated weekly, would mention Kaepernick’s protest, and the game later didn’t — likely because the NFL didn’t want it in the game. We contacted an EA Sports rep to ask what the reason was, in any event, but heard nothing meantime. Madden NFL 19 launched on Windows PC today and begins a 10-hour preview for EA Access subscribers on Xbox One. It launches on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Aug. 10. Update (7:30 p.m. ET): Big Sean weighed in on Twitter, blaming the NFL in addition to EA for the removal of Kaepernick’s name, and Kaepernick replied with a thank-you. Much love brother! Thank you for having my back!✊ https://t.co/yKz3nBMiPb — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) August 2, 2018 Update (8:40 p.m. ET): An Electronic Arts spokesperson told Polygon that the scrubbing of Kaepernick’s name from the lyrics was its responsibility, and not the NFL’s, and that it was done so over a misunderstanding about the rights EA Sports had to use Kaepernick’s name. The representative added that a forthcoming update to Madden NFL 19 will replace the existing version of “Big Bank” with one that includes the reference to Kaepernick. Here’s the full statement from EA: