Colin Kaepernick’s attorney Mark Geragos is chiming in on Maroon 5's controversial decision to play the Super Bowl LIII halftime show after singer Adam Levine defended the band's reason for accepting the gig.
“If you’re going to cross this idealogical or intellectual picket line, then own it, and Adam Levine certainly isn’t owning it,” Geragos said on Good Morning America. “In fact, if anything, it’s a cop out when you start talking about, ‘I’m not a politician, I’m just doing the music.’ Most of the musicians who have any kind of consciousness whatsoever understand what’s going on here.”
Artists including Cardi B, Jay-Z, Pink, and Rihanna publicly rejected offers to play this year's halftime show to show solidarity to Kap, who was unable to find employment with the NFL after protesting racism in 2016 by kneeling during the National Anthem.
Levine responded to the backlash his band has received for playing during the league championship game on Friday (February 1).
"No one thought about it more than I did," he said about making the decision. "No one put more thought and love into this than I did. [...] I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt." He added: "I’m not in the right profession if I can’t handle a little bit of controversy. It’s what it is. We expected it. We’d like to move on from it and speak through the music."
The Maroon 5 frontman also hinted at plans to honor those who feel like their voices aren't being heard. "They will be [heard] — that's all I want to say because I don't want to spoil anything," he said. "And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this. I'm not a speaker. I'm not a public speaker. I do speak, but it's through the music. My life's work and what I put out into the universe has been positive and hopefully inspiring [...] So, what I would say is, you know, we are going to do what we keep on doing, hopefully without becoming politicians and continuing to use the one voice we know how to use properly."
Maroon 5 will perform during the Super Bowl LIII halftime show today (February 3). Rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi will join the band during the set.
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