Drew Brees: New Orleans Saints quarterback apologises for comments about players kneeling during anthem
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has apologised for his comments on NFL players kneeling during the anthem, after an angry backlash from his own team-mates and fans.
Brees sparked controversy when, amid the protests in the US sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody, he told Yahoo that he would never "take a knee" during the customary national anthem before an NFL game.
Brees said that taking a knee, which former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started in 2016 to protest against police brutality, was disrepectful to the country and the flag, comments which sparked angry responses all round.
Superstars such as LeBron James hit back, while Bree's own team-mates such as Michael Thomas and an emotional Malcolm Jenkins, prompting Brees to now apologise.
I recorded a few videos when thinking of how to respond to Drew Brees, I don’t take any of it back-I meant what I said-I removed the 1st video because I knew it be more about the headlines. I want people to understand how those of us struggling with what’s going on feel pic.twitter.com/T054qt0YEz
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) June 3, 2020
In a post on his official Instagram account, Brees admitted his comments had been “insensitive” and had “completely missed the mark”, and begged forgiveness from those he had offended.
Brees wrote: “I would like to apologize to my friends, team-mates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday.
“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.”
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.”
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
The 41-year-old Brees is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV.
Sixteen-year-old tennis star Coco Gauff delivered a powerful speech at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in her home city of Delray Beach.
Gauff, who beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon last year at the age of 15, urged supporters to do their bit to combat systemic racial injustice in the United States.
Gauff said: “If you are choosing silence, you are choosing the side of the oppressor.
“I have spent all week having tough conversations and trying to educate my non-black friends about how they can help the movement.
“I saw a Dr [Martin Luther] King quote that said the silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people.”
More NFL content from Sporting Life
- New season NFL fixtures
- NFL Draft: Winners & losers
- Gronk joins Brady in Tampa
- Burrow goes No.1 pick
- How did Tom Brady become a legend?
- Latest Super Bowl odds
Responsible gambling
We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.
Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.
MOST READ
