I’m sorry, but I no longer have much sympathy for the backlash New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees faced in the wake. Why? He caved and apologized to the mob…twice.
On Wednesday, Brees doubled down on his stance the he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America" in an interview with Yahoo! Finance. Just two days later, and we’ve now seen Brees apologize twice after receiving backlash from dozens of pro sports hypocrites and sports media personalities tried to ruin the 41-year-old’s life for having an opinion.
“I just want you to see in my eyes how sorry I am for the comments that I made yesterday,” Brees said in an Instagram post. “I know they hurt many people, especially friends, teammates, former teammates, loved ones, people that I care and respect deeply.”
Here’s Brees’ full Instagram post:
The apology above came on the same day that Brees released a statement in another Instagram post where he apologized to a list of people and groups.
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 (Wednesday). 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.
You can see Brees’ Instagram post with his first apology below:
“They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy,” Brees also said the post above. “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.”
Countless pro athletes took to social media to shame Brees for his opinion, some going so far as to suggest that Brees should leave the public eye and retire. If you look at some of the responses on the two Instagram posts above, people still want Brees to be “cancelled” despite his mea culpa.
Pretty much everyone in this situation are hypocrites. The athletes coming down on Brees are hypocrites because, to them, their opinions are valid and should be heard. But again, to them, Brees should be silenced for his opinion and his argument deemed invalid. They discount all the charity work Brees has done over the years for the people of New Orleans, especially after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Brees is a hypocrite because, despite his multiple statements over the years of the protests being disrespectful to the American flag, Brees himself knelt during the national anthem in 2017. Yes, the Saints both knelt and stood during the anthem. But he still took part in something he publicly disagrees with.
H/T: New York Post