New Orleans protestors have vented their anger at Drew Brees following his controversial comments over kneeling in the NFL.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback received a huge backlash from the public, his own teammates and sporting greats, including LeBron James, for saying it would be disrespectful to the United States flag if people kneeled.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested police brutality towards black people when he kneeled during the national anthem before an NFL game in 2016.
And kneeling protests have returned during worldwide demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.
Mr Floyd, an unarmed black man, died as he was restrained by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.
Protesters in New Orleans this week chanted ‘f*** Drew Brees’, the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns who has played for New Orleans Saints since 2006.
*WARNING – the video below contains strong language*
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, Brees, 41, apologised for his ‘insensitive’ comments and begged forgiveness from those he had offended.
Brees wrote: “I would like to apologize [sic] 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 [sic] 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.”
View this post on InstagramI 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.
Brees’ apology came after his Saints teammate Malcom Jenkins was among those to express his fury over the comments.
“Drew, unfortunately you’re somebody that doesn’t understand their privilege,” said Jenkins in an emotional video he shared on social meda.
“You don’t understand the potential you have to actually be an advocate for the people that you call brothers.
“You don’t understand the history and why people like me – people with my skin colour – whose grandfathers fought for this country… I still protested – not against the national anthem – but against what was happening in America and what the fabric of this country stands for.
“While the world tells you that you’re not worthy, that your life doesn’t matter, the last place you want to hear it from are the guys that you go to war with, that you consider to be allies and to be your friends.
“Even though we’re team-mates, I can’t let this slide. Drew Brees, if you don’t understand how hurtful, how insensitive your comments are you are part of the problem.
“The whole country is on fire and the first thing that you do is to criticise one’s peaceful protest. That was years ago when we were trying to signal a sign for help, to signal for our allies, our white brothers and sisters, the people we consider to be friends to get involved. It was ignored.”
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