According to US Weekly, singer Rihanna declined an invitation to headline the Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show because she "supports" former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is suing the NFL for collusion.
A source told US Weekly, “The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta. They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”
“After Rihanna, 30, rebuffed the halftime offer, the NFL extended it to Maroon 5," the magazine reports. "Us Weekly broke the news in September that the Adam Levine-fronted pop-rock group gleefully accepted. Multiple sources later told Us that Cardi B may be a special guest during Maroon 5’s set at the 2019 championship game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
Kaepernick is currently suing the NFL and the league’s owners for allegedly colluding to keep him off the field because of his decision to kneel during the playing of the national anthem, MRCTV reported.
He has been a free agent since opting out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017.
Kaepernick’s legal team is expected to argue that President Trump's public criticism of Kaepernick and the NFL anthem protests played a part in the alleged collusion.