Drew Brees Apologizes For ‘Take a Knee’ Comments Following Backlash

By Peyton Blakemore

June 4, 2020

Despite doubling down on his "insensitive" comments regarding his beliefs on "taking a knee," Drew Brees has now issued an apology, saying his "comments lacked awareness and any type of compassion."

On Wednesday (June 3), Yahoo Sports published an interview with the New Orleans Saints quarterback where he boldly stated that he "will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States" when asked about the movement that Colin Kaepernick started in 2016.

"Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States," he said, before talking about his two grandfathers, who he stated fought in the military during World War II.

"Both [risked] their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place," he shared. "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."

Doubling down on his statement, he later told ESPN: "I love and respect my teammates, and I stand right there with them in regard to fighting for racial equality and justice. I also stand with my grandfathers, who risked their lives for this country, and countless other military men and women who do it on a daily basis."

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Athletes aren’t letting Drew Brees’ comments slide. Even teammates are calling him out.

A post shared by Complex Sports (@complexsports) on Jun 3, 2020 at 3:41pm PDT

However, after major backlash from athletes across the country, including his own teammates, Drew seemed to have a change of heart and issued an apology on Instagram early Thursday morning.

"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," he wrote. "In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused."

"In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country," Drew continued. "They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character."

He went on the explain where he "stands," sharing his alleged support of the black community.

See his full statement below.

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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. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character. This is where I stand: I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today. I acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community. I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement. I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right. I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy. I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening...and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen. For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.

A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees) on Jun 4, 2020 at 5:22am PDT

Photo: Getty Images