Drew Brees has faced significant backlash for his comments on national anthem protests, but none of it will come from the president.
Though Brees has since apologized for saying he wouldn’t support anybody who knelt, Donald Trump took to Twitter Friday afternoon to contend that the quarterback was right.
“I am a big fan of Drew Brees," Trump tweeted. "I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high. We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!”
With George Floyd killed at the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, national anthem protests could return to the NFL this fall. Colin Kaepernick famously began kneeling during the anthem to protest police brutality against African Americans in 2016, and players across the league demonstrated along with him
But in an interview with Yahoo Finance Wednesday, Brees said the protest was still something he couldn’t get behind.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said. “Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. 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.”
After garnering quite a bit of criticism from opponents and teammates alike, Brees took to Instagram to walk things back and apologize.
“I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday,” Brees wrote. "In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused.
"In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. 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.
"This is where I stand:
"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 acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community.
'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.”
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