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Drew Brees Faces Intense Backlash After Doubling Down Against NFL Players Kneeling And ‘Disrespecting The Flag’ During Anthem To Protest Police Brutality

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 05: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints warms up during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)


Despite the protests taking place across the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is still not for NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality during the 2020 season.

On Wednesday, Brees spoke with Yahoo Finance and says he still views anthem protests as disrespectful to the flag, which is something he “will never agree with.”

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell 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 Corp. 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, that 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 is 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 that we are all part of the solution.”

Brees faced immediate backlash over his comments about anthem protests on Twitter.

Jorge Alonso BroBible avatar
Brobible sports editor. Jorge is a Miami native and lifelong Heat fan. He has been covering the NBA, MLB and NFL professionally for almost 10 years, specializing in digital media.
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