Colin Kaepernick is speaking out about his long-running tension with Jay-Z, suggesting the rapper’s decision to reference their dispute during a Yankee Stadium freestyle shows the issue may still be weighing on him.

The former NFL quarterback discussed Jay-Z during a conversation with sports journalist Jemele Hill in Detroit at the National Black Footwear Forum. The discussion centered on Kaepernick’s forthcoming book, The Perilous Fight, before turning toward his complicated history with the hip-hop mogul.

Kaepernick said he was surprised that Jay-Z brought him up during the rapper’s recent Yankee Stadium freestyle, particularly because years have passed since Roc Nation entered its controversial partnership with the NFL.

“I was very surprised by it,” Kaepernick said.

He then questioned why the issue appeared to remain significant for Jay-Z.

“I’m living rent-free there,” Kaepernick added. “We are seven years post-him doing that deal.”

Kaepernick argued that Jay-Z referencing the dispute while celebrating the anniversary of his acclaimed work was particularly telling.

“While you’re doing the anniversary tour to celebrate your best work, that’s the thing that’s most top-of-mind for you,” he said.

Kaepernick went even further, suggesting Jay-Z’s comments indicated that the rapper was still struggling with the fallout.

“That’s pretty remarkable, how bothered he is by that,” Kaepernick said. “It speaks to a guilty conscience around it.”

Jay-Z and Kaepernick were once publicly aligned around issues of racial injustice and police brutality.

Kaepernick became one of the most prominent figures in the national anthem protests after kneeling during the anthem while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. Jay-Z later voiced support for Kaepernick and his activism.

Their relationship changed after Roc Nation partnered with the NFL in 2019. The agreement included social justice initiatives and Roc Nation’s involvement in the league’s entertainment strategy.

The partnership drew criticism from some supporters of Kaepernick, who argued that Jay-Z had compromised the movement by working with the league.

Kaepernick acknowledged the backlash during his conversation with Hill.

“The response in the wake of him doing that deal was broadly people being like, ‘You sold the protest out, you sold us out,’” he said.

Kaepernick also rejected the idea that his situation with the NFL should be directly compared with Jay-Z’s business relationship with the league.

“The comparison of ‘I took a deal, he took a deal,’” Kaepernick said, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the two situations were fundamentally different.

He maintained that the NFL had effectively blackballed him after his protests, while also saying the league later approached him about a potential business arrangement.

The latest comments suggest that the disagreement over Jay-Z’s NFL partnership remains an unresolved chapter between the two.