Getty Image / Mark Brown
On Wendesday, Drew Brees said some things. During an interview with Yahoo, the future Hall-of-Famer was asked his thoughts about kneeling during the national anthem. As part of his response, he explained that he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country” before talking about what the American flag means to him.
The majority of people weren’t happy with Brees. The likes of LeBron James, Stephen Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers were just a few of many current and former athletes to ridicule Brees for expressing his opinion.
While Brees was essentially being ‘canceled’ by every person on the Internet, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic shared a few notes he received from Brees’ former teammate Joe Horn. The former wide out said that “people should not be throwing Drew Brees under the bus, and they definitely need to pump the brakes on labeling him a racist.”
"I know Drew Brees. Drew has done a lot to help black families and the black community in New Orleans. If Drew Brees didn’t love black families and low-income families he wouldn’t have helped the way he has over the years. (contd.)"
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) June 4, 2020
"People that are criticizing him like LeBron James and other celebrities don’t know him. They need to check his resume. I love my race. And I love New Orleans to death. But I know Drew Brees. And Drew is a good person. (contd.)"
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) June 4, 2020
It wasn’t just a former teammate of Brees’ that came to defend him. Current Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport took to Twitter and explained that people don’t have to agree with Brees’ belief, but pointed out the fact he wasn’t referring to the current protests going on around the country.
https://twitter.com/MarcusJD84/status/1268317978598223873?s=20
https://twitter.com/MarcusJD84/status/1268320543918309381?s=20
On Thursday morning, Brees posted an apology on Instagram where he clarified the statement he made the day prior emphasizing that he should be doing more listening than talking.
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Mark is an associate editor at BroBible. Follow him on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris for the occasional good tweet. Feel free to contact him at Mark@BroBible.com.