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NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The NFL is not considering dropping Bad Bunny\u00a0as its Super Bowl halftime headline performer<\/a>, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday, reaffirming a decision to put the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist on the league\u2019s biggest stage that led to criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump and some of his supporters.<\/p>\n Goodell addressed the Bad Bunny controversy at his news conference following\u00a0the annual fall owners meeting<\/a>. It is the first time he has commented on the move announced in late September that\u00a0garnered<\/a>\u00a0worldwide attention,\u00a0including an increase<\/a>\u00a0in streams of Bad Bunny\u2019s music, along with backlash.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s carefully thought through,\u201d Goodell said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure we\u2019ve ever selected an artist where we didn\u2019t have some blowback or criticism. It\u2019s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.\u201d<\/p>\n The 31-year-old born Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and his policies. He decided to do a 31-day residency in Puerto Rico, avoiding stops in the mainland U.S., citing concerns about the mass deportation of Latinos.<\/p>\n He performs in Spanish and is expected to do so at the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re confident it\u2019s going to be a great show,\u201d Goodell said, acknowledging there could be more talent added to the lineup along with Bad Bunny. \u201cHe understands the platform that he\u2019s on, and I think it\u2019s going to be exciting and a united moment.\u201d<\/p>\n The San Francisco 49ers are\u00a0hosting the Super Bowl<\/a>\u00a0on Feb. 8 at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. It is unclear if Trump plans to be there, though he has made\u00a0appearing in person at major sporting events<\/a>\u00a0a significant part of his second term in the White House.<\/p>\n Trump in an interview on conservative news network Newsmax said he had \u201cnever heard of\u201d Bad Bunny.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know who he is,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why they\u2019re doing it. It\u2019s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it\u2019s absolutely ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n Goodell defended the decision on Wednesday, explaining it was made because of Bad Bunny\u2019s immense popularity.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,\u201d Goodell said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we try to achieve. It\u2019s an important stage for us. It\u2019s an important element to the entertainment value.\u201d<\/p>\n Echoing what senior VP of football operations Troy Vincent said Tuesday, Goodell said there has not been much discussion about the tush push quarterback sneak since an effort to ban it\u00a0narrowly failed to pass<\/a>\u00a0in the spring.<\/p>\nBanning the tush push has been tabled \u2026 for now<\/h4>\n