Editorial

Drew Brees Posts Another Apology, Wants People To See In His ‘Eyes’ How ‘Sorry’ He Is

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Drew Brees (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has issued another apology over his national anthem comments.

During a Wednesday interview with Yahoo, the legendary quarterback said he didn’t support kneeling during the anthem and talked about his grandfathers being in the military. His comments were incredibly moderate and tons of football fans agree with standing for the anthem. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

Naturally, the year is 2020, and he was quickly made to bend the knee to the social media mob and apologize.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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

Well, apparently, one apology just isn’t enough! The Super Bowl champion released an apology video Thursday, and captioned it in part, “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.”

He also said he wanted people to look into his “eyes” to see how “sorry” he is. Watch and listen to his full comments below.

This is honestly just getting painful to watch. There wasn’t a need to issue the first apology. Now, Brees has issued a second one.

Why are we doing this? Why is the mob coming for a man who has been a shining beacon of goodness in his community? I understand we’re in a tough place as a nation right now in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, but coming for Drew Brees over his anthem stance is absurd.

Thinking you should stand for the anthem and that not doing so is disrespectful isn’t some fringe thought. It’s a thought shared by millions of Americans!

Yet, Drew Brees is being treated like he’s some fringe actor with insane views. He should never have issued the first apology and he damn sure shouldn’t have issued the second one.

Of course, he has a lot of money on the line, and I understand him wanting to protect it. At the end of the day, it’s sad to see we’re now at a place in America where having an opinion shared by millions requires an apology.