MAGA bigots are still steaming that the NFL dared to book Bad Bunny in all his español glory to play the biggest stage in American pop culture. Those purported pro-America “patriots” purposefully fail to acknowledge that not only is Spanish a widespread language in the fifty continental states, but it is also a dominant language in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, which Bad Bunny calls home. This willful ignorance is standard fare for the type of people who believe that this country is for white, Christian men, and everyone else should have to bend themselves to their mercy. The faux outrage has gotten so bad that Charlie Kirk‘s company, Turning Point USA, is hosting its own halftime show full of white nationalist musicians as caucasian counter-programming.
It’s truly a pathetic undertaking, but it’s far from surprising. We truly hope that they enjoy their unseasoned, raisin-filled, saltine Super Bowl.
According to The Daily Beast, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has proverbially flicked his middle finger at the ridiculous right-wing rhetoric that has permeated the public discourse.
“It’s carefully thought through,” he said at the league’s annual fall owners meaning on Wednesday. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
Goodell, who’s served as the NFL commissioner since 2006, declared, “We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” adding that “Bad Bunny understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
The artist, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, previously voiced concern about ICE using his concerts as a culling field to tear immigrants away from their families. It was such a concern that he did not include any U.S. dates on the tour of his wildly successful and popular album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. In the wake of the announcement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem bragged that ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl in February.
It stands to reason that the NFL would have had conversations with the Trump administration about keeping ICE away from the big game to avoid the…poor optics of hundreds or thousands of people being hauled off in unmarked vans outside of America’s biggest sporting event. The NFL owners are unquestionably MAGA and have likely donated millions of dollars to see Trump in office but the only thing they love more than MAGA is money. We’ve seen time and time again that those rich old white men will go to great lengths to ensure that their shield is not tarnished.
