Drew Brees Came Out Against NFL Players Kneeling During The Anthem And This Will Likely Not Go Well For Him

Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about "players kneeling again when the NFL season starts."@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”

Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has done a lot for the city of New Orleans. He’s been their starter since 2006 and, in that time, contributed countless dollars and hours to causes like Hurricane Katrina and whatever the local community has needed. He has done more than provide lip service in the past. But his quotes from the above interview with Yahoo Finance this morning are very much not going to land well. From TMZ Sports:

The New Orleans Saints QB appeared on Yahoo’s On The Move where he was asked about Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling demonstration most likely making a return when the NFL season begins.

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America,” Brees said.

Brees also says he thinks about “the civil rights movements of the ’60s and everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.”

That’s when Brees acknowledges the civil unrest in the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd … but still doubled down on his stance.

“Is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long away to go. But, I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity.”

“It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.”

Some of the responses immediately trickled in against Brees:

Drew Brees when faced with direct questions about racism… pic.twitter.com/na3iF0X7oA

— David Grubb (@DMGrubb) June 3, 2020

I’d have a hard time calling Drew Brees a bad dude after all he’s done for New Orleans and Louisiana. Hell, he just donated $5 million to the state at the start of the pandemic crisis.

But this is very much a time in America where people, especially black people, will go out of their way to challenge white people to be better. Non-violent protest shouldn’t be something that Brees rallies against at this time. Tying military to national pride is also an error that former NFLer Damien Woody immediately pointed out in the replies:

Maybe ⁦@drewbrees⁩ needs a little history https://t.co/t0TkemtduY

— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) June 3, 2020

Much like Vic Fangio, it doesn’t make you a bad guy to be wrong on the issues of racism that people across the country currently seek to address. But it does mean that you need to take a look in the mirror to answer a key question: are you a part of the solution? Because if not, you’re part of the problem.

But hey, if the Saints bring home another Super Bowl, it may not matter:

Me cancelling Drew Brees but still saying saints to the super bowl . pic.twitter.com/QH9lENdTP5

— Rico💛 (@KxngG14) June 3, 2020