Chiefs players blast Saints QB Drew Brees over ‘disrespecting the flag’ comments

Chiefs players gave Saints QB Drew Brees a piece of their mind after recent comments on kneeling protests.

Kansas City Chiefs players have taken to Twitter to react to recent comments from New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees.

Brees was asked on by Yahoo’s Daniel Roberts on Wednesday about how he’d react from a point of leadership if players kneeled in protest in 2020 during the national anthem as former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick once did. Despite protests, riots and civil unrest across the country calling for racial equality and the end of police brutality, Brees says he will never agree with that type of protest.

“Well I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said. “Let me just tell you 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, it 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’s 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 we are all part of the solution.”

Players across the league have reacted to Brees’ comments, including several members of the Chiefs. Second-year RB Darwin Thompson thought of his own grandfather, who spent over a decade in the military, and how he’d feel about the current state of this country.

Starting cornerback Charvarius Ward didn’t need words to describe how he felt about Brees and his comments.

Finally, Tyrann Mathieu sought to remind Drew Brees of the people that he represents.

It’s clear that many across the NFL who respected Brees and looked to him as a leader are disappointed in his words. They’re likely rethinking their stance on the quality and authenticity of his character following these comments.

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