Colin Kaepernick is now playable in Madden NFL 21, which marks his first appearance in the long-running football franchise since 2016. Kaepernick is a figure of renown and controversy in the football scene following racial justice protests he undertook starting in 2016. Most notably, he refused to stand during the traditional performance of the United States national anthem, saying that he wouldn't celebrate a nation that committed acts of systemic racial oppression. In the months following this statement, Kaepernick went all but ignored by several major teams in the NFL, leading many to believe that he was being blackballed for his activism. To that end, he filed a lawsuit against the NFL in 2017.
His exclusion wasn't limited to physical games, either. Kaepernick has been absent from the Madden series for four years now, to the disappointment of many fans who sympathize with his message and with his frustration toward America. Until now, that's included Madden NFL 21, a game that has achieved the lowest user rating of any video game on popular review site Metacritic. While critics have been a bit more gracious, they're still far from impressed. The general consensus is that EA has gotten lazy with its annual football series, and that Madden NFL 21 has little if anything to distinguish it from last year's entry.
Now, EA is trying a unique tactic to set its new game apart and try to redeem it in the public eye. As announced earlier today on the official Twitter page for Madden NFL 21, Colin Kaepernick is making a triumphant return to the franchise. With this update, the quarterback can helm any team in the game's franchise mode, and he is fully playable in Play Now. EA's message states that its sports games are "platforms for players to create" and for that reason, it wants to accurately reflect Kaepernick's talent. To that end, Kaepernick is rated in the game as a starting-caliber quarterback, which is a point of some contention in real life; some argue that his present-day skill level doesn't match up to his position in Madden NFL 21.
Kaepernick's real-life performance aside, this is definitely a good move for EA. Thanks to the protests, Kaepernick's fame extends beyond the realm of football. He's a very prominent figure, ideal for drawing more attention to the game. Even though Madden is the NFL's official video game franchise, EA has also now established itself as willing and able to treat Kaepernick better than the actual league does, which is sure to turn heads. It's definitely a strong move.
Kaepernick's inclusion in Madden NFL 21 is hardly going to redeem the game in the eyes of the public. It's possible that nothing will. The title has been dragged through the mud far too much for one man to clean it off. But featuring Colin Kaepernick is still a strong move that suggests that in at least one aspect, EA wants to be on the right side of history, even if it doesn't actually call attention to his activism in its announcement. Madden NFL 21 players who feel the same can run a yard in Colin Kaepernick's shoes right now.
Madden NFL 21 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Google Stadia, and PC.
Source: Madden NFL 21/Twitter
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/35k74km
0 Comments