American rapper, Sean “Diddy” Combs, hopes to purchase the Carolina Panthers—and he wants to sign a controversial NFL player into his team as well.
He made the announcement on his Twitter account after the team’s current owner, Jerry Richardson, revealed he would be selling the franchise amidst the recent sexual misconduct allegations.
“I would like to buy the @Panthers. Spread the word. Retweet!” Combs wrote on Sunday, Dec. 17.
In a subsequent tweet, Combs noted that if the purchase goes through, the team could become the league’s first owned by a majority of African-American stakeholders.
“There are no majority African-American NFL owners. Let’s make history,” he tweeted.
Combs continued his campaign on Instagram, where he revealed in a video that he would sign former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, adding that he would let him compete with Cam Newton for the starting position.
“I will immediately address the Colin Kaepernick situation and put him in the running for next year’s starting quarterback,” Diddy said in a video posted Sunday. “It’s just competition, baby. It’s just competition”
Many NFL players have followed suit, with some kneeling, sitting on the bench, or even raising a fist in the air, a controversial move associated with Black Power groups.
Critics of the trend have said that protesting during the anthem is misdirected and disrespectful to the country, especially to members of the military. Many have also said that NFL games are neither the venue nor the time to protest, as football has generally, until recently, been a place where the public can put aside their political views.
Combs also said he wants to change the half-time shows in the league.
“I will have the best halftime show, the best selection of music,“ he said on Instagram. “And we will win Super Bowl after Super Bowl.”
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