YouTube Colin Kaepernick in a screenshot from Madden NFL 15.
The latest game in the long-running Madden NFL franchise did something controversial that has rubbed some fans the wrong way.
A Big Sean verse on the song Big Bank by YG has a line that goes “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick,” but Madden has censored Colin Kaepernick from the song.
It seems to be an interesting censor since the lyric is not inflammatory and usually curse words are what get censored. This has led some to believe EA is colluding and trying to censor Kaepernick’s movement.
bad enough @Kaepernick7 still not signed, but now they even edit his name out in this year’s @EAMaddenNFL during @BigSean verse, smh
Twitter user @jeanclervil first noticed the edit and we have confirmed it with our own version of Madden NFL 19. It is not yet clear what the intent of this censor is.
Big Sean tweeted about the censor admitting he was disappointed with the decision.
“It’s disappointing and appalling NFL & EA took [Kaepernick’s] name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word,” said Big Sean. “When he’s not a curse, he’s a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this.”
Kaepernick quoted Big Sean’s tweet and thanked him for the support.
According to TMZ, YG is “pissed” at Madden 19 for deleting Kapernick’s name from the verse. TMZ says the rapper was unaware his verse would be edited like that in the final version of the game.
We’re told the move blindsided YG and his team, and his camp’s furiously trying to find out who called for the edit — the game’s producer, EA, or the NFL. Either way, he’s not happy and wants the song to run unedited.
According to ProFootballTalk, a lyric featuring Colin Kaepernick’s name in Madden 18 was also censored. The song in question is Bars of Soap by Mike WiLL Made-It. The song includes the line “she be hopin’ that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes,” while EA removed the words “like Kaepernick” from the Madden version of the song.
Kaepernick, a former starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, is perhaps best known for raising awareness for the mistreatment of African-Americans by kneeling during the National Anthem.
Although many players followed in Kaepernick’s footsteps he has become the scapegoat for the whole movement and has been unable to find a job in the NFL since.
Madden NFL 17 received an update that mentioned Kaepernick’s protest in its commentary.
Colin Kaepernick does not appear in Madden NFL 19 as a free agent meaning players won’t be able to sign him to their favorite team unless they create him as a character. Kaepernick appeared as a free agent last year but has been taken out of the game completely this time, at least for now.
Other high profile free agents such as Dez Bryant, Jamaal Charles and Antonio Gates, just to name a few, appear in the game despite being unsigned.
Madden NFL 19 releases August 10 for PS4, Xbox One and PS4. Hall of Fame Edition owners receive three day early access beginning August 7. EA Access subscribers receive a trial for the game beginning August 2.
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