Super Bowl 2022: Did Eminem break an NFL rule by kneeling in his presentation?

The long-awaited night superbowl It was held on the last Sunday, February 13. And the halftime show brought together great artists, including the American rapper Eminem who finished his presentation on his knees.

The 56th edition of the Super Bowl not only left the Los Angeles Rams as winners; but also a controversy over the position of the National Football League (NFL) regarding cases of racism within the sports field.

What happened?

During halftime of the biggest game of the season, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem put on a medley of their greatest hits. But the final gesture of the latter was what caught the attention of the public.

After finishing the interpretation of his successful song “Lose Yourself”, Eminem knelt in protest against racism and police violence in the United States. The rapper also covered his face, in the same style as football player Colin Kaepernick, who first made the gesture in 2016.

US media spread the rumor that the NFL had banned participants from holding such demonstrations. However, this was denied during the night of last Sunday and the organizers claimed to have known that Eminem would make that gesture.

“A player or coach could have taken a knee and there would have been no repercussions, so there was no reason to tell an artist that he couldn’t do it.”highlighted the league’s public relations spokesman.

It should be remembered that the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, began to make this series of demonstrations by kneeling -since 2016- during the national anthem as a protest against the racial violence that was experienced in the United States.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish of me to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people who get paid leave and get away with murder.”the athlete said in August 2016. Shortly after, in January 2017, he ended up retiring from American football after not being signed by another team.

Again, Eminem

It is not the first time that the artist raises his voice against violence. In October 2017, during his presentation at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, Eminem directly attacked then-US President Donald Trump. For about five minutes, the Detroit rapper disqualified Trump, calling him a “94-year-old racist grandfather,” as well as ignoring the segregationist past in the North American country.

“What we have now in the White House is a kamikaze that will probably cause a nuclear holocaust”sang during the ceremony held at the Fillmore Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach.

Also, during the song he criticized the people who in some way supported the president’s position. “Any fan of mine who is your supporter, I’m drawing a line in the sand, are you for or against?”He said.

All this occurred at the time that Donald Trump criticized those American football players who did not remain standing when listening to the national anthem; instead of speaking out against the crisis that the country was experiencing due to the lack of control in the sale of weapons after a massacre in Las Vegas.

It should be noted that one of those who fully supported Eminem in his decision was Colin Kaepernick himself, who shared the video clip on his Twitter account.

Other artists who support the cause

The “Black Lives Matter” movement gained strength after the death of citizen George Floyd at the hands of the North American police in 2020. In this sense, various artists spoke out to demand justice in the face of the violence that was being experienced.

One of the first to speak out was the singer Beyoncé, who posted a video on her Instagram account highlighting that “We cannot normalize this pain. I’m not just talking to black people. If you’re white, black, brown, and something in between, I’m sure you feel desperate about the racism that’s happening in America right now.”.

“No more senseless killing of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away. George is our entire family and humanity. He is our family because he is a fellow American,” he added.

For her part, Billie Eilish published a statement on her social networks asking her white fans to recognize the privileges they possess. “You are privileged whether you like it or not. Society gives you privileges just for being white. You can be poor, you can be struggling, and yet the color of your skin is giving you more privileges than you can imagine.he stressed.

Another example is that of the British singer Harry Styles, who expressed his full support for social mobilizations to eradicate violence against African-Americans in the United States.

Through his Instagram, the artist said that “Not being racist is not enough, we must be anti-racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all those who protest (…) Look inside, educate yourself and others”.