New Orleans Saints quaterback Drew Brees issued an apology Thursday after making insensitive comments in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
What We Know:
- When Brees was asked for his opinion about players kneeling to protest police brutality once the NFL season begins this fall, Brees said he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag”.
- “And is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not,” Brees said in the interview. “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.”
- Brees said respecting the US national anthem is not just about showing respect to the military, but also to anyone who sacrificed for this country, including those in the civil rights movement.
- After his comments, the sports world and all the fans blew up social media bashing the 2010 superbowl champ. Saints linebacker Demario Davis spoke to CNN about Brees comments.
JUST NOW: "For him to admit that he was wrong.. I think that is leadership at its finest."
New Orleans @Saints linebacker @demario__davis reacts to hearing @dreabrees' apology in real time. pic.twitter.com/ynY2Ssy6je
— Alli Hedges Maser (@AllisonLHedges) June 4, 2020
- In an Instagram post Thursday, Brees said he was apologizing to his friends, teammates, New Orleans, the black community, the NFL community and “anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday”.
- During an hourlong virtual team meeting Thursday, Brees addressed his teammates and apologized again to them, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports.
A veteran spoke to a Colin Kaepernick and they agreed that kneeling during the national anthem is the most respectful form of protest that he could do.
