There has been a lot of talk about national anthem protests returning to the NFL in large numbers this season in the wake of the death of George Floyd, and Drew Brees made it clear on Wednesday that he still would not agree with kneeling before games. That opinion did not sit well with the quarterback’s favorite receiver.
Brees said he still disagrees with national anthem protests because he feels they disrespect the American flag and those who have served in the military.
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
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. 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.”
The New Orleans Saints star faced immediate backlash over the comments, and Michael Thomas was among those who called Brees out. Thomas wrote on Twitter that he doesn’t care whether Brees approves of the protests and said the 41-year-old doesn’t know any better.
We don’t care if you don’t agree and whoever else how about that.
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 3, 2020
He don’t know no better.
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 3, 2020
Brees and Thomas have arguably the best on-field connection in the NFL, but they obviously strongly disagree on this particular topic. Brees is not the first prominent member of the NFL community to openly condemn national anthem protests.
