ESPN’s Maria Taylor isn’t buying Drew Brees’ recent apology over incendiary comments he made on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Brees issued several apologies after HE received backlash over controversial comments in which he described players silently protesting police brutality during the national anthem as “disrespecting the flag”.
"I’m sorry it has taken this long to act and to participate in a meaningful way, but I am your ally in this fight."
Drew Brees issued a video apology on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/kO7PglfFqv
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 5, 2020
“I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday,” Brees said in his Instagram apology. “In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused.” Brees also reportedly addressed his team, after many of his prominent Saints teammates publicly rebuked him.
While many of Brees’ teammates have accepted his apology, Taylor questioned whether Brees would have apologized if he didn’t receive any backlash.
Maria Taylor on Drew Brees apology " Would Drew Brees do this if there was no backlash?"…"You were not doing the right things before and I really wonder why the apology is happening now" pic.twitter.com/sQQe1ZaC8b
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 5, 2020
“I wonder to myself, after watching that apology on Instagram, would Drew Brees do this if there was no backlash?” “And you just Max Kellerman already say that he’s had similar comments before. So my next question is: did your heart actually change? Because racism is a heart problem. And you have to have your heart in the right place.”
“Obviously I look at when someone brings up the American flag and disrespect to our country as it pertains to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling as a dog whistle,” . “I think that’s you basically saying that you want to ignore the racial injustice, you want to ignore everything that he’s already told you that he’s kneeling for, you want to ignore a peaceful protest and the actual reason why it’s taking place.”
Taylor finished off by saying that she has no more patience to debate whether Brees has “a good heart” after his comments.
"My patience left my body when I watched George Floyd take his last breath."@MariaTaylor voices her dismay over Drew Brees' comments. pic.twitter.com/jiGncUzyCl
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 5, 2020
I’m exhausted and I’m tired of listening to someone say something and then having to sit back and then saying maybe it’s not his heart and maybe it’s not this or it’s that. When you reveal yourself to me and you say something like that and you say it out of an intolerant mind and or non-empathetic heart and for the last five years all we’ve seen is countless deaths in the streets…My patience left my body when I watched George Floyd take his last breath