Source: Chris Graythen / Getty
Drew Brees recently made headlines after he and his wife donated $5 million to provide families in New Orleans with assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a spectacular display of willful ignorance, the Saints quarterback shared in a new interview that he will not support NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem, prompting football Twitter to throw a flag on the play.
Brees sat down with Yahoo! Finance Editor-At-Large Daniel Roberts, who asked the player his thoughts about the peaceful and silent kneeling protests first started by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. With the specter of police brutality and its effect on Black Americans in particular, Roberts pointed a question asking Brees how the league should respond to players taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees responded, which again is another tone-deaf response to the injustices that sparked Kap’s current movement as an activist and effectively got him ousted from the league and a sport he loved.
What is incredibly disappointing is time and again, Kaepernick and other players both Black and white have articulated what the kneeling represented and should have been a wake-up call to the league and the nation to spark a true nationwide dialogue about race in America.
Instead, the bumbling leader of our nation, President Donald Trump, referred to players who protested racial injustice as “sons of b*tches” and has routinely misinterpreted the true aim of the players.
Now somewhat dripped out in MAGA sauce, Drew Brees is getting sacked for his incorrect assertion that kneeling disrespects the flag instead of the gesture being a call to white Americans to look Black people and other persons of colors directly in the eyes and ask how can we collectively fix this broken system.
Brees’ comments are also hurtful because, as some have noted on Twitter, he is one of New Orleans’ most beloved athletes.
Check out the reactions to Drew Brees’ comment below.
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Photo: Getty
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Drew Brees Fumbles Ball Out Of Bounds After Foolishly Critiquing Colin Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protest was originally published on hiphopwired.com
1.
Never was about disrespecting the armed forces. It’s about police brutality and racial injustices in our country. This country can’t be unified if African Americans are unjustly killed in the street because of the color of their skin https://t.co/BzRZgkOYnU
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 3, 2020
2.
Drew Brees was once my teammate. Had a long intellectual talk with him in the cold tub once. Drew..... you’re a smart man. This ain’t ignorance. This is picking a side and not caring enough to fight for justice because you’re comfortable within your own bubble. Silence is murder!
— Lamar Louis (@_ball_is_life23) June 3, 2020
3.
Us, waiting for the "Stick to Sports" crowd to attack Drew Brees pic.twitter.com/b0P90mbyNS
— FunnyMaine (@FunnyMaine) June 3, 2020
4.
And Drew Brees had the nerve to post a Black Box on his IG yesterday. 70% of the Saints roster is Black and this is his response. When people show you who they are believe them cause he just doubled down on the same views he expressed around Colin Kaepernick. https://t.co/CcBBPfZ5j8
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 3, 2020
5.
Me cancelling Drew Brees but still saying saints to the super bowl . pic.twitter.com/QH9lENdTP5
— Rico 💛 (@KxngG14) June 3, 2020
6.
So Drew Brees is more upset about Colin Kaepernick kneeling at a football game to protest police brutality against black people than he is about actual police officers kneeling on a black man's neck in a murderous act of police brutality. https://t.co/HSir8vUaPt
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 3, 2020
7.
8.
9.
Matt Ryan
— Devind (@dclightsout) June 3, 2020
Drew Brees pic.twitter.com/aaX1nKC8Xr
10.
Jameis winston when he gets the start over drew brees pic.twitter.com/Ln1iZIyfHw
— Pain (@freegarypoleman) June 3, 2020
11.
I can't fathom how infuriating this sentiment must be for NFL players who protested during the anthem. It hijacks their message. It also attempts to rob them of their agency. They've said clearly what they mean, and Brees is misrepresenting them. https://t.co/oT3ZgkjTy1
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) June 3, 2020
12.
The kneeling protests never disrespected the flag, nor the military or the country. We have known this for long enough that one can state definitively that @drewbrees is being intellectually dishonest with this statement. To argue this now, though, it is especially so. And cruel. https://t.co/N96RgQFiBe
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 3, 2020
13.
Drew Brees couldn't even directly say he understood why Colin protested injustice nor that he understood the anger of many black americans. He just talked about what the flag means to him.
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) June 3, 2020
But he posted a black box on instagram like he did somethin. That's the issue. https://t.co/bUs3g8AW86
14.
This is the response of someone who actively chooses not to understand the situation. AK https://t.co/nZ2iAQB8dW
— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) June 3, 2020
15.
Man I wish @drewbrees never made that statement man..the boot love this dude..they worship him like he’s a king down here..very upsetting man
— 💯 Cash (@CashNasty) June 3, 2020
16.
Jamies Winston seeing all the Saints WRs turn on Drew Brees pic.twitter.com/cqkNoQRoPy
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) June 3, 2020
17.
Drew Brees is an excellent example of how 'non racist' white people enable racism.
— Matt Rogers 🗳 (@Politidope) June 3, 2020
They make friends with and act like they share common cause with those black friends, but when the rubber meets the road, they're "more devoted to order than justice" as MLK wrote about. pic.twitter.com/lAVT957U3G
18.
.@drewbrees is part of the problem. His take is disingenuous and wrong. The flag argument is an excuse to keep business as usual. Smh pic.twitter.com/23w9KGJdcs
— Rob Parker (@RobParkerFS1) June 3, 2020
19.
Incredible the degree to which the athlete who New Orleans has deified more than any other in the city's history is so out of touch with the majority of that city's population. https://t.co/hABZdUAXy3
— Mason Ginsberg (@MasonGinsberg) June 3, 2020
20.
Madden needs to lower these Drew Brees accuracy and awareness ratings immediately! pic.twitter.com/MEraIJFbo2
— Solomon Brown (@cyclist29er) June 3, 2020
21.
After what Drew Brees said I’d like to thank the NFL refs for screwing over the Saints for 2 straight seasons. pic.twitter.com/sAzHL7JkpN
— Heel Turn Haden (@_TheSonOfMars_) June 3, 2020