As protests erupt around the country related to George Floyd’s death, many have pointed out that police brutality was the reason Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in 2016.
But Drew Brees said Wednesday he still sees the act of kneeling during the playing of “Star-Spangled Banner” as disrespectful.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback’s remark during an interview with Yahoo Sports about whether he thinks players will start kneeling again when the NFL season begins due to Floyd’s death.
Floyd, a black man, died last week in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
“I’ll 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 I look at the flag of the United States: I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II … both risking their lives to protect our country and 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 signing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. In many cases it brings me to tears, thinking all that’s been sacrificed.”
This isn’t the first time Brees has spoken out about the issue. In 2016, Brees said he “wholeheartedly” disagreed with Kaepernick’s method of protesting, calling the flag “sacred.”
On Wednesday, Brees posted a social awareness statement to his Instagram, urging young people to ask what difference they can make in the world.
“Is everything right with our country right now? No it’s not,” Brees told Yahoo Sports “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, it shows unity. It shows we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we all are part of the solution.”
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about “players kneeling again when the NFL season starts.”@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
