NFL superstar quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints found himself taking serious heat this week after he dared to say that he does not support pro athletes who kneel during the national anthem. In fact, Brees’ comments drew such swift and brutal backlash that he felt required to apologize for his defense of our national anthem and the American flag.
Drew Brees Doesn’t Support Kneeling During National Anthem
During an interview with Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, Brees simply said that he could never agree with those who disrespect our country by kneeling during America’s national anthem.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said. “Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.”
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 went on to say that he comes from a military family. That’s why the all star NFL quarterback sees kneeling during the anthem as a sign of disrespect. Both to the American flag and to all those who have fought and died for it:
“I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corps. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about.
And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to 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.”
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Cancel Culture Bombards NFL QB Drew Brees
Backlash against Brees was both swift and aggressive. Even famous athletes like LeBron James and Aaron Rodgers spoke up to bash him. While many made sure to express their support of Colin Kaepernick.
At the time of publishing, the hashtag #DrewBreesIsCancelled is trending with nearly 20k tweets in support.
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
Aaron Rodgers’ stance: pic.twitter.com/3XWgSN1e67
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 3, 2020
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.
But he posted a black box on instagram like he did somethin. That’s the issue. https://t.co/bUs3g8AW86
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) June 3, 2020
.@drewbrees the reason my children have to live in a world that won’t empathize with their pain is because people like you are raising your children to perpetuate the cycle. Drew, you are the problem.
— Douglas Baldwin Jr ? (@DougBaldwinJr) June 3, 2020
This shows you that there are a lot of people & companies out there right now that will say they stand with us but only do it so they dont get bashed not because they mean it. pic.twitter.com/DB3wF4JdKB
— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 4, 2020
Looks like Drew Brees received an updated Madden NFL 20 rating this morning. #DrewBreesIsCancelled pic.twitter.com/uzOubSl58d
— Sports Gamers Online (@SportsGamersOn) June 4, 2020
Drew Brees Issues Lengthy Apology
The backlash grew to be so great that Brees was forced to issue a lengthy apology. The QB posted his apology on Instagram less than 24 hours after his initial statements on the anthem. That in itself is testament to the speed and severity of the backlash he received.
The NFL quarterback began his post by saying that his comments about the anthem were “insensitive and completely missed the mark on what we are facing right now as a country.”
Brees went on to say:
“They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character. I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today.
“I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement. I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right. I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy. I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen. For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.”
Of course, that wasn’t enough for cancel culture. It’s never enough.
Nah Drew you have been saying this since Kaepernick started kneeling. You are only apologizing because of the public backlash! Keep your half ass apology and your shitty opinions to yourself! #DrewBreesIsCancelled https://t.co/PPuxPEYlNi
— Ariel Guillory (@MsArielg) June 4, 2020
When Supporting Our Country Becomes Controversial
It’s sad that we live in a time when simply defending the national anthem is seen as a controversial. Where is the shame in that?
I almost got whiplash by how quickly the public turned on Drew Brees while elevating Colin Kaepernick. This is truly a surreal moment in our history.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Brees said. Yet the NFL quarterback was publicly shamed and forced to apologize as if he had said the worst possible thing imaginable.
We would like to let Drew Brees know that his apology was unnecessary, as he hit the nail on the head with his initial statement.
We support black lives. Yet we cannot stand with those who kneel during the national anthem.
We won’t let society ever shame us for loving our flag and those who fight for it.
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