Drew Brees Slams Colin Kaepernick: It’s An ‘Oxymoron That You’re Sitting Down, Disrespecting That Flag’

It’s been days since Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem and salute the American flag, yet the story is raging like a wildfire. Ther latest athletes to broach the difficult and complex topic of racial tensions and law enforcement are fellow NFL players Drew Brees and Richard Sherman.

Brees said Kaepernick’s decision to boycott the national anthem was “bothering me all day long” and considers the American flag “sacred.” The New Orleans Saints commented on the controversial issue, via Mike Triplett of ESPN:

“Not that he wants to speak out about a very important issue. No, he can speak out about a very important issue. But there’s plenty of other ways that you can do that in a peaceful manner that doesn’t involve being disrespectful to the American flag. I think the important point to make here is that flag symbolizes, represents the freedoms that you have the chance as an American to exercise. So sitting down for that, that is a blatant disrespect of the freedoms that that gives you. Like it’s an oxymoron that you’re sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out.”

Brees, who has long been a passionate supporter of the military, continued:

“I’ve been on five USO trips, so I’ve had a chance to meet and talk with a lot of military personnel. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the things that they go through. Also having family that have served and sitting around and listening to my grandfather talk about World War II, so maybe that gives me a heightened level of appreciation for them. But when I look at that flag, I think about them too. I think about a lot of things. Like when I stand and listen to the national anthem with my hand over my heart, there is emotions that well up inside of me. Like, I could shed a tear every time the national anthem plays if I would allow myself because it’s that powerful.”

Brees’ grandfathers served in World War II, one in the Marines in Okinawa and the other in the Army in India.

Seattle Seahawks CB Richard Sherman also opined on the hot-button issue:

I thought that was interesting. Obviously, what he meant was in a good place. He wanted to make a stand. Obviously, anytime you don’t stand during the national anthem, people are going to criticize it. And that’s the unfortunate part of it. You can’t ever stand against the flag. A lot of people have sacrificed for it. But there is also a deeper meaning to what he did. He’s talking about the oppression of African Americans in this country. And that has been going on for a long time. I think a lot of the focus has shifted away from his message and shifted to some people, rightfully so, to him taking a stand against the nation, etc., etc.

But I think there are also things in this nation that people need to remember and take heed of and also acknowledge. This country is the same country that had ‘whites’ and ‘colored’ signs on the bathroom. We’re still in that country, we’re still in that nation. And that needs to be acknowledged and that needs to be changed. There are people with that mentality that still exists, and that needs to change. There are people who still treat people of color with subjectivity. They treat them a certain way. They categorize them. They put them in a certain category. There are certain statistics that are put out there to make sure police profile certain people in certain neighborhoods, and that needs to change. So there is some depth and some truth to what he’s doing. I think he could have picked a better platform and a better way to do it, but every day they say athletes are so robotic and do everything by the book. And then when somebody takes a stand like that, he gets his head chopped off.

Sherman compared Kaepernick’s actions to that of Muhammad Ali when he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army in 1967 to fight in the Vietnam War:

Like you said, Muhammad Ali not going to fight the war. I’m sure he was viewed very similarly during that time. As time went on, as people understood his message and what he was standing for, the feeling towards it changed. Obviously, he’s an American and he thinks America is as great a nation as anybody else or else he wouldn’t be living here, I’m guessing. But he also understands the trials and tribulations that he goes through as an African-American male in this country. People say, ‘Oh, he has all this money so he doesn’t deal with those problems.’ Well, all the money in the world can’t buy you freedom, can’t change your skin color, can’t get your family out of that. And not only do you have to deal with that but your family has deal with it, your kids have to deal with it. And it’s unfortunate, and I think people need to take a step back and acknowledge that. Acknowledge that there were wrongs in this country. Acknowledge that there were people getting hosed down in the street and dogs getting sicced on them for standing for what they believed in, and that’s unfortunate.

At the same time, you’ve got to honor your country. I think football is a tremendous asset but it can also be a motto for what it means to be a team. Me and coach (Darrell Bevell) were talking earlier today, and he was like, ‘Ever since I was a kid when I first started playing or coaching, when you play football, you’re not concerned whether you’re throwing to a black guy or a white guy or an orange guy or an Asian guy. You’re concerned about getting the ball there, executing your job, winning. You’re concerned about playing for the next guy, playing for your brother, and I think that’s something the nation can take from sports. The Olympics were also a great example of how everybody comes together and nobody is saying, ‘I’m not going to run against this guy because he’s black, white, orange, blue.’ They’re running to compete for their nation and to win. They don’t care what color the people on their team are. They’re supporting them, they’re supporting their country, and that’s how it should be all the time, regardless of circumstance. I think it will be a long time before we get there, but hopefully we’re trending that way.

Ali defined himself a conscientious objector because of his Muslim religion.

Ali explained his stance:

“War is against the teachings of the Qur’an. I’m not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don’t take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers. Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”

Dodging the draft is a felony punishable by five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Ali was arrested and several boxing commissions including the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. He would not be able to obtain a license to box in any state for over three years.

Ali took his case to court, but he was found guilty and a Court of Appeals upheld the conviction. The case then went to the U.S. Supreme Court where on June 28, 1971, Ali’s conviction was overturned by a unanimous 8–0 decision.

[Uproxx]