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'I Just Couldn't Be a Sellout' | Why Rihanna Turned Down The Super Bowl Halftime Show

By Julia Conley/Common Dreams

Rihanna confirmed Wednesday that she turned down an invitation to perform at the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show to express solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

"I couldn't dare do that," Rihanna told Vogue in an interview. "For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler."

Rihanna's refusal to perform for the NFL this past February came 2 1/2 years after Kaepernick first kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, particularly police killings of unarmed black Americans.

Kaepernick's protest was attacked by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and other conservatives, but won praise from other racial justice advocates and inspired other athletes to join him in declining to stand for the anthem. Kaepernick has not been signed to an NFL team since the 2016 season, despite his readiness and willingness to play.

"There's things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way," Rihanna told Vogue.

Maroon 5 had no such compunction, headlining the godawful spectacle without any hint of social consciousness whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Kaepernick remains unemployed while the likes of career backup Chase Daniel gets playing time on a playoff hopeful Bears time, which also continues to move the (un)esteemed Tyler Bray on and off its roster.

This post is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Previously in Colin Kaepernick:

* Don't Be Surprised If Colin Kaepernick Prompts More Schoolchildren To Sit For The Pledge Of Allegiance.

* Why Colin Kaepernick Matters.

* Your Turn: Colin Kaepernick's Protest.

* Youth Football Team (8-Year-Olds) Take Knees In Belleville.

* Taking A Knee In Trump Country.

* Black Athletes Can Teach Us About More Than Just Sports.

* A Long History Of Protest For Black Athletes.

* Which Side Are You On? | Donald Trump And The NFL's Rich White Owners Vs. Colin Kaepernick, African Americans And People Against Unjustified Police Killings.

* Beto O'Rourke's NFL Comments Have Gone Viral.

* U.S. Gold Medalists Raise Fists, Take Knees.