New Orleans Saints NFL Quarterback Drew Brees is under fire for his recent comments about kneeling before the American flag during the National Anthem. Brees went on Yahoo Finance and spoke about the possibility of more “flag protests” before upcoming NFL games. His comments come on the heels of nationwide “protesting” (truly, riots) over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The 41-year-old quarterback and philanthropist was roundly criticized for his comments by several high-profile athletes and television personalities. Ed Reed, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, called Brees a “sucker” in a social media video. Booger McFarland, a New Orleans native, said “no matter how much money you give, it doesn’t change what’s inside of your heart.”
LeBron James tweeted that Brees doesn’t get the reason why Kaepernick kneeled on one knee. Some of Drew Brees’ own teammates tweeted negative comments against him, including a “vomit” emoji.
Unfortunately, Brees did apologize with a lengthy post on Instagram. He apologized to the black community, the NFL community, and pretty much anyone else that could possibly be offended. The issue is that apologies only partly work. Bending to the mob sets a person up for future problems.
Brees is a well-known philanthropist in New Orleans. He arrived to the Saints in the 2006 season, just months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. The foundation that Brees has with his wife have donated millions upon millions of dollars to the region.
His play as a successful NFL quarterback has driven a lot of money to the region as well. Brees’ foundation donated five million dollars to Feeding America for virus relief in late March. Even some of his critics acknowledge the gigantic amount of philanthropic work that he’s done.
So why the severe backlash? Nowadays, a person’s character and years of hard work get pushed to the side if they say one thing that the “mob” disagrees with. The “mob” is not even referring to an Italian family in New York or Chicago. Rather, it refers to the social media mob. The outrage mob on Twitter and Facebook. Which then bleeds into everyday walking life. These people seek vengeance no matter how small the infraction. And the number one thing that fees the mob is capitulation … an apology.
SOURCES:
Booger McFarland on Drew Brees’ comments and Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem – YouTube
Drew Brees on Twitter: “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… https://t.co/Jg36d0Ad0l” / Twitter
Saints news: Drew Brees donates $5M to food banks, community support
Kneeling during the national anthem? NBA rule actually prohibits it – SBNation.com
Drew Brees receives intense backlash from star athletes after remarks about protesting during national anthem | Fox News
