Do you think he hit Facebook Live on his smartphone and started "freestyling" and the BET awards just made a snap decision to broadcast it? Do you think he frequently hangs out in a parking garage with his entourage in a perimeter around him, waiting to hear what he has to say? Do you think he stepped in front of the camera and was torn between his competing desires to speak up about either Trump, or the impact of environmental estrogen from the BPA in disposable plastic bottles on the modern American male? If the answer to any of those is no, then yes, it was planned.
The controversy over the anthem has had a negative impact on the NFL. That is incontrovertible.