Sports World Reacts to Drew Brees's Comments on NFL Players Kneeling in 2020
NBA star LeBron James was one of many athletes from around the sports world who weighed in on Drew Brees's comments to Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.
Brees said he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting" the United States flag in an interview with Daniel Roberts.
In a series of tweets, James said, in part, that, "Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free."
Earlier in the day, when Brees was asked about the prospect of NFL players kneeling next year, he said, in part, per Yahoo Finance:
"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 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.”
The Saints QB's comments come amid ongoing protests in the United States related to police brutality and racial injustice.
A number of Brees's teammates appeared to weigh in on the QB's remarks.
Other players from around the NFL commented as well.
Warning: Video contains explicit language:
Athletes across all sports voiced their opinions too.
Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick notably knelt during the national anthem as a means of protesting racism and police brutality during the 2016 NFL season. He last played in the NFL that year.
Kaepernick later filed a grievance against the NFL, arguing that he was effectively blackballed from the league because of his views. The league denied the charge, and the grievance was eventually settled.
Last Friday, Kaepernick's charitable arm, the Know Your Rights Camp, launched an initiative to hire top defense lawyers for people arrested protesting police brutality in the Minneapolis area.
