The NFL officials reportedly nixed any idea that the performers might have had to kneel during the evening’s halftime event, Puck News reported. Kneeling became a hotly contested issue in the NFL after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick famously took a knee in protest. After he finished performing “Lose Yourself,” he very purposefully took a knee, leaving his head bowed as the show moved back over to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Huff Po reporter Phil Lewis tweeted, “Eminem kneels during the halftime performance, after NFL officials reportedly shut down the idea.” Many others on Twitter felt the rapper took a knee in solidarity with Kaepernick, who no longer plays in the league.
While many Twitter users felt that the rapper kneeled because of Kaepernick’s protests, at least one Twitter user had another explanation for the moment. “Or Dre started playing Tupac’s ‘I ain’t mad at ya,’ and Eminem took a knee respecting a legend. Em was close with Tupac’s mother. But I could be wrong,” tweeted a fan. Despite a few alternative ideas, the majority of those talking about Eminem kneeling during the Super Bowl halftime show felt it was a form of protest.
