A lyric referencing Colin Kaepernick was removed from Madden NFL 19’s soundtrack
Update: Big Sean’s verse on YG’s “Big Bank” was altered for the video game’s release, but the game’s publisher says the change was a mistake and will be fixed.
Last week, the soundtrack for this year's instalment of EA Sport's hit video game series Madden NFL was released. One of the featured songs on Madden NFL 19 is YG's "Big Bank" featuring Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Nicki Minaj. In the song's original version, Big Sean's verse contains a reference to Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began kneeling before games during the national anthem in 2016 to protest black oppression in the United States. Read Sean's lyrics below:
Feed me to the wolves now I lead the pack and sh*t.
You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick
As TMZ Sports reports, Colin Kaepernick's name has apparently been removed from Madden NFL 19. Twitter user @jeanclervil shared a video allegedly depicting how the song sounds in-game; watch it here. NBC Sports has confirmed that the Kaepernick's name does not appear during the song in the game.
Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against NFL owners through the NFL players' union in 2017, alleging that they colluded to prevent him from signing to a team as payback for his protests.
Soon after the news broke, Big Sean called the removal of Kaepernick's name "disappointing and appalling," and denied having any involvement in the decision. Read his statement below:
On Thursday evening, EA Sports issued a statement claiming Kaepernick's scrubbing was a mistake, and that an update would be made available to restore the reference. "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," the company wrote.
“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.”
This post was updated on Friday August 3 at 10:11 a.m. EST to include statements from Big Sean and EA Games.
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