Big Sean: I didn't clear removal of Colin Kaepernick's name from lyric in 'Madden'

Lorenzo Reyes | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Antonio Brown excited to be on the cover of Madden 19 Antonio Brown on his journey from sixth-round rookie to gracing the cover of football's most iconic video game.

There’s a curious apparent omission in advance copies of the EA Sports video game Madden NFL 19, one that may pique interest in a high-profile collusion case involving Colin Kaepernick.

In the song Big Bank by YG featuring 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj, rapper Big Sean sings a verse with the lyrics: “You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick.”

In advance copies of Madden NFL 19, however, Kaepernick’s name appears to have been omitted, as first noted by Twitter user @jeanclervil.

bad enough @Kaepernick7 still not signed, but now they even edit his name out in this year’s @EAMaddenNFL during @BigSean verse, smh pic.twitter.com/3nvkB26z5r — Mr. Changing Lives (@jeanclervil) August 2, 2018

It’s common for the video game franchise to edit out profanities from songs that appear in the game, but Big Sean said he didn’t sanction the removal of Kaepernick’s name.

“It’s disappointing and appalling @NFL & @EA took @Kaepernick7’s name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word,” Big Sean wrote Thursday in a message posted to his verified Twitter account. “When he's not a curse, he's a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this.”

It’s disappointing and appalling @NFL & @EA took @Kaepernick7’s name out of my verse on Big Bank for Madden 19, like it was a curse word. When he's not a curse, he's a gift! Nobody from my team approved any of this. — Sean Don (@BigSean) August 2, 2018

Kaepernick noticed and responded: “Much love brother! Thank you for having my back!”

Much love brother! Thank you for having my back!✊🏾 https://t.co/yKz3nBMiPb — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) August 2, 2018

The rapper YG also said he did not approve the decision, commenting from his Instagram account in a Bleacher Report post, saying: “ON MY DAUGHTER. THEY AINT RUN THAT BY ME. THATS KOLD.”

According to Pro Football Talk, this isn’t the first time it has happened, either.

In last year’s version of the game, released in August 2017, the song Bars of Soap by Mike WiLL Made-It appeared in the soundtrack. One original verse contained the lyrics: “She be hopin' that I take a knee like Kaepernick, yes,” but PFT reported that the words “like Kaepernick” were also removed.

EA Sports responded, saying it would update the game.

“We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack,” EA Sports said Thursday night in a statement. “Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks. We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. We will make it right, with an update to Madden NFL 19 on August 6 that will include the reference again. We meant no disrespect, and we apologize to Colin, to YG and Big Sean, to the NFL, to all of their fans and our players for this mistake.”

Hey Sean, no doubt we messed up here. We look forward to making it right. pic.twitter.com/taFXQ7UwBA — EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL) August 3, 2018

Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who remains unsigned after last playing in the NFL in 2016, is pursuing an ongoing collusion case against the NFL and its ownership, claiming that there has been a concerted effort to keep him unemployed due to his social activism.

Kaepernick famously kneeled during the pregame playing of the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality against minorities. Several other players throughout the league followed his lead in the last two seasons by demonstrating during the anthem.

Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.