Drew Brees was engulfed in controversy last week when the New Orleans Saints quarterback gave an interview with Yahoo! and addressed Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players protesting police violence against African-Americans by kneeling during the national anthem prior to football games.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said.
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
Brees was immediately hit with backlash for his comments. Among those calling him out was fellow athlete LeBron James, who wrote, “You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee??”
WOW MAN!!
. Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those https://t.co/pvUWPmh4s8 — LeBron James (@KingJames) June 3, 2020
As the backlash built, Brees responded with two separate apologies, admitting he “missed the mark” while revealing he has since come to gain a clearer understanding of the the intent of the kneeling.
Brees’ reversal and declaration of supporting the Black community did not sit well with President Donald Trump, who has been vocal in his criticism of the kneeling protests at NFL games.
“I am a big fan of Drew Brees… but he should not have taken back his original stance on honouring our magnificent American flag,” Trump tweeted
…We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag – NO KNEELING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020
Brees responded to Trump’s criticism in a lengthy statement he posted on Instagram, addressing him directly.
“Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been,” Brees wrote.
“We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities. We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week,” he continued.
“We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform,” added Brees.
“We as a white community need to listen and learn from the pain and suffering of our black communities,” he concluded. “We must acknowledge the problems, identify the solutions, and then put this into action. The black community cannot do it alone. This will require all of us.”
Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the… https://t.co/zcw1NMZF2W
— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) June 6, 2020
