The 'Madden NFL 19' soundtrack censors Colin Kaepernick's name

Colin Kaepernick

A song in the upcoming "Madden NFL 19" censors a reference to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The song — YG's "Big Bank" — features a verse by Big Sean that directly references Kaepernick's last name. His name is replaced with silence.
It's unclear why the song is censored, but it's presumably related to Kaepernick's ongoing battle with the NFL. He is engaged in a collusion grievance with the NFL.
Kaepernick repeatedly took a knee in protest during the national anthem while he was still with the San Francisco 49ers.
On Thursday night, EA Sports apologized and said it would uncensor Kaepernick's name from the upcoming game.

In a bizarre move, this year's "Madden" game censored an in-game mention of former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick.

The reference pops up in a song on the game's soundtrack — YG's "Big Bank," which features several other musicians. On Big Sean's verse, he says, "You boys all cap, I'm more Colin Kaepernick."

But in the game, according to a video shared widely online on Thursday, the song cuts Big Sean's verse when he says "Kaepernick," like it were a pejorative:

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

Kaepernick is currently involved in a collusion grievance with the NFL, which may help explain why his name is being wiped from the big annual NFL-licensed video game.

He argues that NFL teams conspired to keep him unemployed due to his protest of racial inequality and police brutality throughout the past two years. Kaepernick was the first to begin kneeling in protest during the singing of the national anthem at NFL games.

Despite a strong record in the NFL, Kaepernick remains a free agent since leaving the 49ers.

Big Sean responded to the discovery, saying that the cutting of Kaepernick's name from his song is "disappointing and appalling." He further says that the removal wasn't approved by him or his team.

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

Update: EA Sports is uncensoring Colin Kaepernick's name from the upcoming release of "Madden NFL 19." The company released the following statement on Thursday night:

"We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack. 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."

You can watch the full video for YG's "Big Bank" right here: