New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees proved he still doesn’t understand anything about Colin Kaepernick’s protest.
When asked what he thought about players possibly taking a knee when the NFL season returns, Brees told Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Roberts, that he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Brees’ comments haven’t been particularly well received by his teammates or other NFL players, who were quick to call him out on his misinterpretation of why Kaepernick was taking a knee to begin with. NBA star LeBron James also expressed his frustration over Brees’ words, pointing out that it had “nothing to do with disrespect.”
WOW MAN!! 🤦🏾♂️. Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of 🇺🇸 and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those https://t.co/pvUWPmh4s8
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 3, 2020
“WOW MAN!!,” LeBron wrote, adding a palm to the face emoji. “Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of 🇺🇸 and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those.”
That’s the sentiment that seems to be making its way across many in the sports world. It’s fine that Brees’ own values dictate that he stand for the national anthem and that his experiences, as a white male of considerable privilege, allow him the luxury of a softer perspective on issues of race and justice. What’s inexcusable is, as LeBron pointed out, his inability to understand that Kaepernick’s protest was never about disrespecting the flag, but about standing up for justice, and that, especially in the light of George Floyd’s death, those protests would have renewed relevance.
When Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem, he made it very clear what he was protesting against.
“There are a lot of things that need to change,” Kaepernick said at the time. “One specifically is police brutality. There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. Cops are getting paid leave for killing people. That’s not right.”
If Brees is still confused, he might want to pay attention to the black athletes around him, who are urging him to listen.
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