While Bad Bunny used one of his Grammy acceptance speeches on Sunday night to condemn escalated operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t seem to be expecting to hear the same message this Super Bowl Sunday.
During a pre-Super Bowl press conference on Monday (Feb. 2), Goodell was asked a two-part question: whether he expected ICE agents to be present at Super Bowl events around San Francisco or at Levi’s Stadium during Sunday’s game and whether he thought Bad Bunny would repeat the same anti-ICE sentiment of his Grammy speech during the halftime show.
After saying he expects the same high security standard at and around the game as any other year, Goodell conveyed to reporters that the Super Bowl is not a time for divisive political statements — and said he believed Bad Bunny “understood” that assignment.
“Bad Bunny – I think it was demonstrated last night – is one of the greatest artists in the world,” Goodell said of Bunny, who picked up three new Grammy Awards on Sunday night, including album of the year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. “That’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is that he understood the platform he was on. This platform is used to unite people, to be able to bring people together with their creativity and their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”
When Bunny made his first speech at Sunday’s Grammys telecast, accepting best música urbana album for DTMF, he started by referencing the “ICE Out” message worn by dozens of musicians on small black-and-white buttons that night.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ICE Out!” he declared as the room gave him a standing ovation. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans. I know it’s tough not to hate on these days. … The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it. We love. That’s the way to do it. Thank God, and thanks to the academy.”
Watch Goodell’s full answer below:
Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox
Sign Up
