New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been heavily criticized for comments on kneeling during the national anthem. However, Brees has publicly issued two apologies and has made it clear that he stands with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice.
According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Brees had tears in eyes as he apologized to his teammates during a team meeting on Thursday. Several of Brees' teammates have publicly accepted his apologies, including linebacker Demario Davis, receiver Michael Thomas, and defensive end Cameron Jordan.
When Brees addressed the team during Thursday’s meeting his teammates saw him in a very emotional state. They could tell it hurt him to hurt them, which mattered. He had tears in his eyes as he apologized.
His actions since then continue to support what he said on Thursday.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) June 6, 2020
Brees caused uproar Wednesday after he told Yahoo! Finance that he did not support protesting police brutality if doing so involved “disrespecting the flag” by kneeling during the National Anthem.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country, he said. “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.”
Brees drew heated backlash from dozens of players across multiple sports, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman.
Nevertheless, it's clear that Brees is genuinely sorry for his comments, rather than attempting to repair his personal image.
Follow Us
Subscribe