NFL does a business deal with an ex-con

Jay-Z's Roc Nation entering partnership with NFL, so much for wholesome family entertainment

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• By Around The NFL staff NFL.com
• Published: Aug. 13, 2019 at 07:16 p.m.
• Updated: Aug. 13, 2019 at 07:23 p.m.

Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by rapper and businessman Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, is entering into a multiyear partnership with the NFL to enhance the NFL's live game experiences and to amplify the league's social justice efforts.

As part of the agreement, Roc Nation will advise on the selection of artists for major NFL performances like the Super Bowl. A major component of the partnership will be to nurture and strengthen community through football and music, including through the NFL's Inspire Change initiative.

The NFL formally launched the Inspire Change initiative in early 2019, after more than two years of work with NFL players, with the goal of creating positive change in communities across the country. Through this initiative, NFL teams and the league office work with the Players Coalition and other NFL players to support programs and initiatives that reduce barriers to opportunity, with a focus on three priority areas: education and economic advancement; police and community relations; and criminal justice reform.

"With its global reach, the National Football League has the platform and opportunity to inspire change across the country," Carter said. "Roc Nation has shown that entertainment and enacting change are not mutually exclusive ideas -- instead, we unify them. This partnership is an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of communities across America."

Roc Nation also will work with the NFL to create and distribute content across multiple music streaming services for a variety of initiatives.

"Roc Nation is one of the most globally influential and impactful organizations in entertainment," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "The NFL and Roc Nation share a vision of inspiring meaningful social change across our country. We are thrilled to partner with Roc Nation and look forward to making a difference in our communities together."

On December 1, 1999, Jay-Z, who had come to believe that record executive Lance "Un" Rivera was behind the bootlegging of Vol. 3..., stabbed Rivera at the release party for Q-Tip's album Amplified at the Kit Kat Klub, a now-defunct night club in Times Square, New York City. Jay-Z's associates at the party were accused of causing a commotion within the club, which Jay-Z allegedly used as cover when he supposedly stabbed Rivera in the stomach with a five-inch (127 mm) blade.^[192] He surrendered to police the following evening and was placed under arrest, although he was soon released on $50,000 bail.^[193][194] When he was indicted in Manhattan Criminal Court in late January 2000, he pleaded not guilty; he and his lawyers contended that they had witnesses and videotapes proving he had been nowhere near Rivera during the incident. Nevertheless, he later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and accepted a three-year probation sentence.^[195]

People need to forget NFL Sundays. Why would anyone support this crap?