New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees faced intense criticism in June for his comments regarding kneeling during the national anthem.
Brees’ remarks drew a sharp rebuke across the sports landscape, including some of his teammates. Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins believed Brees remarks were offensive to African Americans and that he was misrepresenting what they were protesting for with kneeling during the national anthem. Jenkins also said that he was hurt by Brees' comments and that they were “extremely self-centered.”
However, during a video conference call with reporters on Thursday, Jenkins said that Brees apologized to the team and the team has moved forward in a positive way thanks to the private conversations that have occurred since then.
“Yeah, I think if anything, the team was probably closer for it because we’ve had to have tough conversations and oftentimes, those adversities or those intimate kind of engagements, bring people closer, and I think this is no exception,” Jenkins said on Thursday.
Furthermore, shortly after Brees' comments about kneeling during the national anthem, he apologized in an Instagram post and wrote that he completely missed the mark with his words. He also made it clear that he supports policy change and stands with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice.
Nevertheless, it's good that the Saints are all on the same page and have moved forward following Brees' comments. They are scheduled to play their first regular-season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 13th, even if fans will not be able to attend.
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