Kendrick Lamar's whole Super Bowl Halftime Show was a political statement, but apparently if you get too explicit about it the league will bring the hammer down. A protester who unveiled a flag emblazoned with the words "SUDAN" and "GAZA" has been banned from NFL events for life, CBS News reports.
During the performance, the man, one of the performers in the show, pulled out his flag and waved it atop a car that had been used as a prop during the show, a gesture of solidarity and an apparent stand against the genocidal war efforts that have ravaged both regions. Stadium personnel quickly apprehended the man. Roc Nation, which produced the show, said the protest was not planned as part of the show and was not replicated during any rehearsals. According to the AP, New Orleans police are "working to determine applicable charges in this incident" — but in a country where the First Amendment applies, they're going to have to contort the law to come up with anything.
There is, however, no First Amendment in the NFL, which controversially removed the phrase "END RACISM" from the end zones for this game in what has been interpreted as a concession to the political climate under the Trump administration. "We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag," the league said in a statement. "He was a part of the 400-member field cast. The individual hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show. No one involved with the production was aware of the individual's intent."
Add this to the list of ominous developments to be upset about right now.
