A petition launched in November to convince Maroon 5 to step down as the half-time act at Super Bowl LIII was updated on Monday.
Despite the success of the online campaign, the NFL officially revealed that Maroon 5 would be performing as the headlining act on Monday morning.
Originally, the petition pleaded the Adam Levine-led pop group to reject a rumoured spot in the 53rd annual halftime show. It pulled in more than 85,000 signatures across the globe.
The idea of the petition was to boycott the NFL after their wrongful policy changes, which were made as a response to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick — who instead of standing during the national anthem, kneeled as an act of protest on several occasions.
Astroworld rapper Travis Scott and Outkast‘s Big Boi were revealed as guest acts to perform alongside Maroon 5.
Founder of the petition, Vic Oyedeji, is now demanding that the musicians “take a knee” during their performance. It’s the only way “they can redeem” themselves according to the North Carolinian.
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Kaepernick began this quiet yet powerful fight against police brutality and racial inequity back in 2016 before leaving the 49ers.
Only last May, a new anthem policy was created by the NFL as a response to Kaepernick’s acts of protest.
The policy deems that all professional players must now “stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem,” otherwise they will be fined.
Oyedeji reached out to Levine in hopes that the Moves Like Jagger band would use its power and influence as popular celebrities to take a stand against this action, something he hoped would spark a boycott against the NFL.
“Kaepernick has sacrificed his NFL career to call out violent racism in America, and players across the country have followed his lead,” he wrote.
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“Rihanna, Jay-Z, Amy Schumer and others have refused to work with the NFL too,” he added in hopes of winning over Levine and co.
READ MORE: Thousands sign petition demanding Maroon 5 drops Super Bowl halftime show
“Show the hundreds of millions of people watching that you stand in solidarity with Kaepernick and all players who protest police brutality,” Oyedeji wrote.
He highlighted a link which directs the reader to Twitter with a template post including #TakeAKnee.
“Use this opportunity to force the NFL to change their policy,” he added.
https://twitter.com/mrssamgordon/status/1085041308241199104
Thousands of users have hopped on board with Oyedeji by posting the linked tweet in hopes to raise awareness and promote social equity.
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Since the NFL officially announced this year’s halftime acts, Oyedeji’s petition has resurfaced and is expected to receive thousands more signatures. You can find the petition on change.org.
Levine and Maroon 5’s publicists have not made commented on the matter.
The Super Bowl will air on Feb. 3, 2019. The final teams are currently undecided.
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