NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees is being sharply criticized by fellow high-profile athletes, including some of his own teammates, after the Saints quarterback reiterated his opposition to kneeling during the national anthem.
Brees made his comments during a Yahoo interview in which he was asked to revisit former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protest of police brutality against minorities. Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem before games.
Brees says he’ll “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.” Brees has said he supports people protesting police brutality but that the national anthem is not proper forum for that.
Among those reacting were Devin and Jason McCourty of the New England Patriots, who tweeted their disapproval Wednesday afternoon.
This is a disgrace! To speak about your grandfathers as if there weren’t black men fighting next to them.Those men later returned to a country that hated them. Don’t avoid the issue and try to make it about a flag or the military. Fight like your grandfathers for whats right! https://t.co/qag3Igic3V
— Devin&Jason McCourty (@McCourtyTwins) June 3, 2020
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