Demi Lovato kicked off the Super Bowl LIV with her national anthem performance. Despite her inspired singing in what could be said as one of her best national anthem renditions, it did not make Beyonce and Jay-Z stand up and pay respect.

Beyonce and and her husband Jay-Z caught people's attention after they chose not to stand up during the Super Bowl 2020 National Anthem. TMZ had the video of them seated during Demi's rendition of the song.

As noted by the Associated Press, some of the spectators and followers translated their choice as a sign of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback who has been blackballed by the league for his political stance.

What Happened to Kaepernick?

In 2016, Colin took a knee during the national anthem in one of his games as a sign of protest against President Donald Trump and the U.S government, who displayed systematic racism and police brutality during the same year.

Taking the knee is an act being done by players since 2016 to show their protests. However, some people see it as unpatriotic and disrespectful.

After Kaepernick's silent protests, members of various NFL teams engaged on the same rally.

The next year, he lost his position on the San Francisco 49ers and was never signed by any other NFL team despite his remarkable scoring and passing.

In 2017, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL and its owners for allegedly blackballing him to keep him out of the league.

He said in a statement that "athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the Executive Branch of the government."

The New York Times reported in 2018 that "the league cannot appeal the arbitrator's decision to move to a full hearing, but it can appeal a final ruling."

They added that Kaepernick sought for damages equal to what he supposedly would have earned if he was still running in the field. 

Artists Support the Quarterback

Numerous members of the entertainment community, including Jay-Z, came out in support of Colin. Because of the almost three-year-old issue, there were artistslike Rihanna who refused to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show.

Beyonce once praised the quarterback personally when she met him to give Sports Illustrated's "Muhammad Ali Legacy Award" in 2017. 

"Thank you, Colin Kaepernick, thank you for your selfless heart and your conviction, thank you for your personal sacrifice," Beyonce said, per The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Rihanna, who also supports the NFL player, opened up to Vogue in October 2019 and said that she just could not participate in any events involving the NFL and its organization.

"Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler," she explained. "There are 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."

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