Colin Kaepernick highlights protest effort amid Jay-Z controversy: 'How can you stand for the national anthem?'

As controversy swirled around Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL, Colin Kaepernick raised his hand on Wednesday to point to the cause at the center of attention — social justice.

Jay-Z will work with the NFL to promote social justice issues off the field while his Roc Nation will co-produce Super Bowl halftime shows in a deal announced this week.

Where’s Kaepernick?

What’s missing from the equation is Kaepernick. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who hasn’t played since the 2016 season because he was the face of the on-field protest effort involving kneeling during the national anthem was reportedly not consulted on the partnership.

Hours after Jay-Z —who has publicly supported Kaepernick’s cause in the past —answered questions about why Kaepernick was not part of the deal, Kaepernick posted a video highlighting the issues of police brutality his protests have focused on.

‘How can you stand for the national anthem?’

The video shows footage of police violence, statements from family members of victims of police violence and media coverage of Kaepernick’s protests.

Jay-Z claims he talked with Kaepernick

Jay-Z faced questions about Kaepernick’s involvement in the NFL deal in a joint news conference with league commissioner Roger Goodell officially announcing the partnership earlier Wednesday.

He told reporters that he had spoken with Kaepernick.

“I would never tell you what me and Kap’s private conversation was about, but we spoke, yeah,” Jay-Z said, according to Variety.

Kaepernick’s camp says otherwise

This appears to contradict a statement from Kaepernick’s friend, fellow protestor and Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, who tweeted Tuesday night that Kaepernick was not consulted about the partnership.

Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa Diab attacked Jay-Z’s claim on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, calling it a lie that the two had spoken while pointing to another article from Monday where Jay-Z claimed that he didn’t consult Kaepernick.

Nessa’s tweet reiterated a statement from Kaepernick’s lawyer Mark Geragos, who told TMZ on Wednesday that Kaepernick and Jay-Z had not spoken prior to the NFL partnership.

Later on Wednesday, Reid went further to outline what he believes the rap mogul’s intentions are, tweeting that Jay-Z’s “goal was to make millions and millions of dollars by assisting the NFL in burying Colin’s career.”

Context not clear

The context of Jay-Z’s claim that he spoke with Kaepernick is muddy. It’s unclear if he meant that he had spoken with Kaepernick about other issues or if he had spoken with Kaepernick since he made an agreement with the NFL — or something else entirely.

But the hubbub over his statement is crystal clear.

This is a problem for Jay-Z

As of now, it looks like Jay-Z is taking sides with the NFL and working to help the league in its effort to shift anything that looks like protest as far away from the field as possible — all while Kaepernick remains unemployed by the league.

Coming from a guy who basically laid an NFL diss track bragging about saying no to the Super Bowl, it looks on the surface to be an about-face.

Until and unless Jay-Z executes a master plan that satiates the heart of Kaepernick’s protest movement, he’s going to be vulnerable to the torrent of criticism that has rained down upon him since Tuesday.

More from Yahoo Sports:

• Jay-Z’s Kaepernick support complicated by NFL deal

• Packers QB Rodgers has helmet advice for Raiders’ Brown

• Red Sox ace Sale reaches 2K strikeouts faster than anyone

• ‘Hard Knocks’ only barely features ongoing Brown drama