Rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs has set himself a new goal to purchase America's National Football League (NFL) so players will have the freedom to protest.
The star feels strongly about athletes being allowed to express themselves by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem if they so desire, and was incensed by reports this week (begs09Oct17) suggesting NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had sent a memo to all team owners encouraging them to have their players and staff stand for the pre-game ceremony.
Diddy took issue with the news, and took to Instagram on Tuesday (10Oct17) to express his desire to purchase the entire NFL.
"I did have a dream to own a nfl team (sic) but after this post my DREAM IS TO OWN OUR OWN LEAGUE," he wrote. "WHERE YOU CAN BE YOURSELF. Have a retirement plan. Have the freedom to be a great human and protest for your people without being demonized for your beliefs as a KING!!!!!
"New dream alert!!!!!" he added. "Sell me the NFL NOW!!!!"
The comments made by Diddy, who was recently named Forbes magazine's highest-paid hip-hop artist of 2017, emerged hours before NFL representatives clarified the claims insisting no such order about the national anthem was given, explaining that league officials are planning to meet with team owners to discuss how best to deal with the ongoing protests next week (begs16Oct17).
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began the trend of kneeling for the national anthem last year (16) to draw attention to racial discrimination and acts of police brutality. The form of protest caught on among other players in the NFL, but the topic hit headlines again recently after U.S. President Donald Trump called for any player who refused to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner be fired by NFL team owners, branding anyone who took a knee "a son of a b**ch".
His fiery comments ignited a huge backlash last month (Sep17), when a host of team owners showed their support for their players by linking arms and/or kneeling on the field prior to their games, while a number of musicians also did the same during their shows.
