*Although the next Super Bowl will be held in his hometown of Atlanta, Falcons fan T.I. told ESPN’s Jemele Hill that he will be boycotting the league this season in response to its crackdown on protests during the national anthem.
“I think there’s a violation of constitutional rights being implemented to minority players who choose to have a peaceful silent protest,” T.I. said.
The league announced a policy in late May barring players from kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” though protesting players will be allowed to remain in the locker room while the anthem is played.
“It’s really like you want us to shut up and take what we got coming to us in our communities, and that’s just not acceptable,” T.I. continued. “And if that’s what you think about us, why should we really spend our money and show our extreme support of your corporation?”
The 37-year-old, born Clifford Harris Jr., said NFL fans could accelerate change if they choose to hurt the league financially.
“We gotta go to the corporations,” T.I. added. “Stop spending our dollars with them until they press the politicians who press the police to do what we need to do until they respect our lives and consider us as equals or else they don’t deserve our dollars.”
Watch below:
Hosted @BET’s #GeniusTalks at #BETX yesterday and @Tip explained why he’s boycotting the NFL, even though the Super Bowl is in Atlanta next year pic.twitter.com/V22y3Imc8r
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) June 24, 2018
In other T.I. news, the rapper may follow up his appearance in “Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp” with a role opposite Eddie Murphy in “Dolemite Is My Name!,” the forthcoming Netflix’s biopic of comedian and film producer Rudy Ray Moore.
Murphy plays Moore in the production, which began shooting last week with Craig Brewer directing.
In what is described as a flashy and funny role, T.I. would play a movie producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess and Da’Vine Joy Randolph round out the cast.
Davis Entertainment’s John Davis and John Fox are producing along with Murphy.
Moore, who died in 2008, is often referred to as the Godfather of Rap due to the sexually explicit nature of his comedic rhymes, often depicting pimps, prostitutes, players and hustlers. The son of a sharecropper, he broke through in 1970s Hollywood when his underground records became popular in black communities.
He used the proceeds to produce and star in “Dolemite,” a classic blaxploitation movie featuring a pimp with a harem of kung fu-fighting prostitutes.
T.I., who had a role in the first “Ant-Man” as part of the heist crew surrounding the hero played by Paul Rudd, will reprise his role for the sequel that opens July 6. He is also starring in unscripted business competition show “The Grand Hustle,” which will air this summer on BET.
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