Published 17:21 IST, June 6th 2020
Donald Trump slams Drew Brees for apologising for initial comments on Kaepernick's protest
US President Donald Trump slammed New Orleans Saints quarterback for apologising after his initial comments made about kneeling during the national anthem.
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After receiving a swarm of criticism from sports personalities over the last couple of days, United States President Donald Trump took a shot at the New Orleans Saints quarterback over the Drew Brees apology for his comments over the national anthem. The Drew Brees apology touched upon the 'hurtful' and 'insensitive' comments the NFL star made when he was first asked about his thoughts regarding the George Floyd protests. However, US President Donald Trump wished that Drew Brees never apologised and instead stuck to his initial stance of not wanting to kneel during the national anthem.
Donald Trump on Drew Brees apology: No kneeling says, Donald Trump
Although the Drew Brees apology indicated that the 41-year-old felt a sense of guilt for his comments of 'disrespecting the American flag', Donald Trump was left unimpressed. Donald Trump took to Twitter to slam the NFL icon by revealing that Brees should never have issued an apology for his comments. On Friday, Donald Trump explained that although he believes the New Orleans Saints star is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the world, the NFL star should have stuck with his original views of not wanting to kneel during the US national anthem. Donald Trump further continued that the Old Glory must be cherished and there should be no kneeling during the national anthem. Donald Trump's tweet came less than 24 hours after the Drew Brees apology in which the Saints star vowed to be a part of the solution.
I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020
...We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020
Drew Brees comment: Colin Kaepernick campaign
Earlier on Wednesday, a Drew Brees comment on the US national flag and anthem sent the sporting world into meltdown. In one particular Drew Brees comment, the 13-time Pro Bowler said that he would never disrespect the national anthem by kneeling while it played. This led fans to believe that Drew Brees was against the Colin Kaepernick campaign during a time of civil unrest in the country. The George Floyd death sparked an uproar among athletes in America over racial injustice in the country. The Colin Kaepernick campaign was reignited amid the George Floyd protests that have continued for over 10 days in the US.
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about "players kneeling again when the NFL season starts."@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
Drew Brees comment backlash: Drew Brees' response to Donald Trump
Drew Brees was called out by his own teammates including Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Emmanual Sanders. A number of former NFL stars including Ed Reed slammed the Saints star and NBA superstar LeBron James also took aim at Brees. Brees went on to issue two separate apologies and also responded to Donald Trump for his comments indicating that the issue at hand is much bigger than the national flag. Brees stated that "white citizens must look into the pain and suffering of the African-American community".
17:21 IST, June 6th 2020