Jay-Z made a stop in Las Vegas along his 4:44 Tour on Saturday, October 28, and he took the T-Mobile Arena crowd to church with a couple of acapella verses throughout the night. There was one moment during the show that proved particularly timely on account of current events in his wife Beyonce's native Houston, and it came in prelude to his delivery of "The Story Of O.J." For players on the NFL's Texans football team who might come across footage of the performance, the message he delivered along with it will resonate most profoundly.
"That's how they look at you. That's exactly what they think about you. We've got so much further to go," the Roc Nation boss said. "The truth is... The truth is, whatever you believe in - we all come from one source, which means we're all brothers and sisters at the end of the day,"
His words were in response to team owner Bob McNair's analogy comparing NFL protesters to "inmates" attempting to take over a prison. Since word got out about McNair's winter meeting remarks, his team has struggled to keep its focus for Sunday's matchup against the Seahawks in Seattle. Within hours offensive tackle Duane Brown had blasted his boss before reporters and at least 10 players walked out of practice, with all returning but star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Heading into the weekend there was some doubt as to whether Hopkins would even board the plane for the West Coast trip, but it has since been confirmed that he will indeed suit up on Sunday.
McNair made it a point to visit the Texans locker room to apologize before the team in person early Saturday. In spite of his efforts to retract the statement though, it is reported that the team convened on Saturday evening to plan a demonstration. It remains to be seen what the players come up with, but sources have speculated that the players may either kneel during the National Anthem, remain in the stadium's tunnel, or remove the Texans logo from their helmets come game time.
