Colin Kaepernick may be the most divisive player in sports today. EA added to the controversy—and possible Kaepernick’s pending lawsuit—by censoring his name on the Madden 19 soundtrack. Big Sean dropped Kaepernick’s name on his song with YG, “Big Bank,” which appears on the football game’s soundtrack. However, the line “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick” was slated to end with silence. Now, EA is backtracking and apologizing for their decision. 

YG made his strong feelings known in the early hours of Thursday. Then, Colin Kaepernick’s girlfriend and radio host Nessa Diab pointed out the unnecessary censorship on her Twitter. Diab may have cost Kaepernick a job with a previous tweet, but in this case, she’s almost certainly in the right.

Oh!!!!! @EAMaddenNFL who told you to edit Colin’s name out???? @nfl ? @NFLPA Curious minds want to know 👁 Thanks Jean for the info!!! If you guys see more shady stuff send it over. https://t.co/EIBQbaQ5SA

— NESSA (@nessnitty) August 2, 2018

Later in the day, Big Sean called out EA for censoring Kaepernick’s name. Facing growing backlash, EA responded that they had done so in error. EA has apologized and promised to rectify the situation. We will find out whether they live up to that promise when Madden 19 launches on August 6.

Hey Sean, no doubt we messed up here. We look forward to making it right. pic.twitter.com/taFXQ7UwBA

— Madden NFL 24 (@EAMaddenNFL) August 3, 2018

This explanation fails for one simple reason: EA did the same thing last year. EA censored Kaepernick’s name in Mike WiLL Made-It’s “Bars of Soap” on Madden 18’s soundtrack. That song contained curses, but not in the censored line.

“The Buddha left me without breath, I really am a mess/I’m moochin’ off my mother-lovin’ self/She be hopin’ that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes.”

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

For those of you somehow unaware of the situation, Colin Kaepernick began sitting during the National Anthem to protest police brutality in 2016. After speaking with ex-Green Beret Nathan Boyer, Kaepernick chose to kneel rather than sit to show more respect for veterans. Other NFL players joined his protest, which created a firestorm of controversy and animosity. Following the 2016 season, despite previously reaching the Super Bowl and posting the best touchdown to interception ratio of his career, Kaepernick received no contract offers. He has since filed a lawsuit, alleging that the NFL owners are blackballing him from playing.

Dropping names has been a staple of rap songs for years. I can’t recall the censorship of any names in any song, with the exception of Hitler .By putting Colin Kaepernick’s name alongside profanity and genocidal dictators, EA chose to take a political stance. Given their close ties to the NFL, it’s easy to assume that they were pressured to do so. Kaepernick may be able to use this as evidence for his collusion case against the NFL. 

We will let you know on Tuesday whether or not EA followed through with their promise. Until then, feel free to debate their decision in the comments (but keep it civil). Follow DFTG on Twitter and Facebook for more up to the minute gaming news.