Saints players and other key sports and public figures are angry at Drew Brees for his anthem comments

Saintamaniac said
I'm going to take it that you meant to say kneeling during the anthem.

I'm a Drew Brees fan. I love the way he plays the game and the type of player he has been. Brees played football for the Saints and helped bring our city a championship. Together with Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis, they have helped make the Saints a respected organization. But to say "what he has done for a predominately African American city....." IMO, that borders on the ridiculous. Keep this in mind. The Saints have paid Brees for every snap he has taken. Brees hasn't played here for free.

My issue with Brees statement and the people who keep repeating his line of thinking is this. From the start, Kap and the players repeatedly informed critics that they are not protesting the flag. I'll say that again, PLAYERS WERE NEVER PROTESTING THE FLAG. They stated that they protested during the anthem to bring attention to the very things that the WORLD is currently protesting against.

If I tell you that I'm doing A and you turn around and accuse me of doing B, the problem is not with me, the problem is with you and your refusal to understand what A means. It's much easier for you to get enraged about B.

I appreciate the response and I understand. And while their intent is to not disrespect the national anthem or the flag it’s still something I’d rather not do to show my support for black lives matter. It’s not because I don’t care or that I won’t stand it’s unity, it’s because I wore the uniform and for me both have special meanings that I hope are respected in the same way. I think that we as a society or fans are putting the spotlight on a symbol rather than the actual issue at hand. What I am trying to say is show me that you are making change. Show me where your heart is. Show me you aren’t kneeling because it’s cool or because you are scared of backlash. There are many of black and white Americans all over this country that are speaking out on their computers, blacking out their screens, hashtag this and that. When they turn off their computer or phone the thought of actually doing something never crossed their minds. I promise you there are many white and even some black football players that have knelt down for the anthem and haven’t done sheet for the actual cause. They are just more worried about their fans, image and next contract than civil rights. Let’s look at the deeds, look at what they have done in their lives to further the cause. Yes Brees may not have a list of African American specific things he has done but what he does do has a non racial or biased intent to it. He works to bring young kids of all race together with his flag football, he builds play grounds for poor communities and for handicap children. He is helping feed the poor and needy during Covid. Plus I’m sure tons more that we don’t know about. I know some but I won’t get into it here. Regardless if he didn’t say what you or MT or anyone else wanted to hear that’s fine and you can be angry but don’t mistake what he says as his actions because he is a better man than I am. So if kneeling during the anthem is all you are looking forI’m not sure you or anyone else understand what the protest is for. Its for action not show and Brees is always about action.

edit- guys I want to edit this post as it correctly was pointed out to that I made a comment about black players kneeling and not doing anything for the cause. I was talking in reference to a broader sense of service as it what Brees does in general and not talking about stopping police brutality. Of course black Americans can’t do anything about the brutality and it was a terrible miss on my part to not reread my post before I submitted it. This entire kneeling protest as well as the other things happening right now directly relate to police brutality and I don’t want to take away from that specific focus by tackling multiple issues.