Posted on 06/04/2020 1:26:03 PM PDT by Kaslin
RUSH: So Drew Brees, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints — Drew Brees, who up until 24 hours ago was a hero in New Orleans. Drew Brees had done so much for that community. He had donated time, significant amounts of money in the post-Katrina aftermath and recovery of New Orleans. He was a favorite son. I mean, he was beyond reproach, impeccable reputation, impeccable image.
Star quarterback, one of the greatest quarterbacks the history of the game. He took the Saints to Super Bowl win some years ago, but always kept them in contention. He was an exciting player to watch. He spread the ball around. He had a number of wide receivers that were setting NFL records for catches, yards.
He made a lot of people great. He made a lot of people very wealthy because of how good he is. And now? Well, I don’t know. Because when all this recent protesting and looting and rioting began, Drew Brees, for some reason, felt compelled to defend the flag. He said… I’m paraphrasing now.
He said, “When I see the flag, when I hear the national anthem prior to our games — when we’re all standing on the sidelines, I’m looking at this flag, I’m singing along with the anthem — I stand with my grandfathers, who risked their lives for this country and countless other military men and women who do it on a daily basis.”
And he went on to say that no matter what, he is an going to disrespect the flag and he’s not gonna be tolerant of anybody else who does. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that didn’t go over very well with many of his teammates. It didn’t go over well with very many people throughout the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.
You had all kinds of athletes tweeting that Brees was insensitive. He was selfish. He was just a bad, bad, bad guy. “How can he be so tone-deaf?” You even had an NBA player — I don’t remember who — saying, “You know what? The NFL needs more people like Aaron Rodgers and fewer people in it like Drew Brees.” Drew Brees never did anything to anybody other than make them better.
Somehow, you can’t escape the notion that all of that now is for naught.
“Saints’ Drew Brees Draws Backlash for ‘Disrespecting-the-Flag’ Comment — After earlier sharing a message of unity on social media, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees attracted backlash Wednesday when he reiterated his stance that he will ‘never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America’ during an interview with Yahoo Finance.
“Brees’ comments came when he was asked during the interview to revisit former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protest of police brutality against minorities, in which Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem before games. Brees’ remarks on the flag drew a sharp rebuke on social media across the sports landscape, including from Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
“Brees gave a lengthy response to ESPN when asked about the perceived conflict between his statements, including a potential divide in his locker room, where players such as Malcolm Jenkins and Demario Davis are among the leaders of the players’ coalition seeking social justice and racial equality.
“‘I love and respect my teammates, and I stand right there with them in regard to fighting for racial equality and justice,’ Brees said. ‘I also stand with my grandfathers, who risked their lives for this country, and countless other military men and women who do it on a daily basis.’
“An emotional Jenkins, in a video that has since been deleted from social media, said that he was ‘hurt’ by Brees’ comments and that they were ‘extremely self-centered.’ ‘Our communities are under siege, and we need help,’ Jenkins said… ‘And what you’re telling us is don’t ask for help that way. Ask for it a different way. I can’t listen to it when you ask that way.
“We’re done asking, Drew. And people who share your sentiments, who express those and push them throughout the world, the airwaves, are the problem. ‘And it’s unfortunate because I considered you a friend. I looked up to you. You’re somebody who I had a great deal of respect for. But sometimes you should shut the f— up.'”
In the next story, “Drew Brees Apologizes for His Incentive Comments About His Grandfathers — Drew Brees apologizes for kneeling controversy, said he never intended to hurt anybody’s feelings and that he is not the enemy.” Now, what? Somebody help me out. Is honoring the sacrifice and bravery of your grandfathers, is that now white privilege?
Is it white supremacy? Is it insensitive? Is it missing the boat about what’s going on? Why must there be…? Folks, this is a key pregunta. Why must there only be one opinion on that? Why is it only permissible for there to be one opinion? So now begging for forgiveness is solution. Begging for forgiveness is the fastest route to safety.
Drew Brees has donated millions of dollars to the city of New Orleans. None of that matters today. Isn’t that amazing? None of that matters. None of that’s even remembered. Now, don’t miss understand. I’m not saying Drew Brees made the charitable donations for PR purposes and for insurance purposes to buy goodwill. I don’t think he did.
I think he made the donations ’cause he genuinely cares about the city that he calls home, the city he lives in. But it didn’t count for anything when the question of his character came up. When the question of whether or not he’s a good guy came up, that stuff didn’t seem to matter, ’cause it’s apparent there’s nothing he can do to absolve him of the sin of his DNA.
He was forced to beg for forgiveness. He said, “I stand with the black community for the future against systemic racial injustice and police brutality, and I support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. 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.
“For that, I’m very sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness.” So there are some who say, “Okay. That’s good. That’s good. That’s a good first step. It’s a good start. Way to go, Drew, very good.” But is there going to be now a…? Not a scarlet letter. Is there forever gonna be an asterisk — and, of course, the media will be playing with this.
If the NFL season ever does start, and let’s say the Saints are not doing well, and let’s say that Brees is having trouble completing passes, and here comes the postgame media: “Do you think your receivers are trying hard enough for you, Drew, or are they still mad at you? Are they laying down on you, Drew? It looks like that pass was right there; they just dropped it.
“Are you having trouble on the team? Is the team unified?” Are they ever gonna be able to get past this stuff now? ‘Cause you know that the media will relish those kinds of interview opportunities. If Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are going great — if they’re undefeated after the first four or five weeks and he’s throwing for record numbers of yards and the touchdowns — the media will ask:
“Drew, how were you and your receivers able to put all of this behind you — or have you? Are your receivers doing what they’re doing because they’ve been able to look past your insensitivity and they’re just the epitome of professionals? How do you explain this, Drew?” And then they’ll ask the head coach what the locker room is like. So we’ll, of course, keep a sharp eye.
There’s something happening here in the country, and it’s not unprecedented. I have a piece here that runs in the Federalist. (interruption) No, no, no. I’ve got a lot of emails from people that are mad that he had to apologize, Drew Brees.
Drew Brees: I stand by my convictions...well kinda. At least as long as no one is offended. Please forgive me for having a wrong opinion.
I suspect he realized he could back down OR be seriously injured in a game - very seriously. I’m not happy about him backing down, but I won’t have a bunch of very big, very strong haters looking to cripple me for life because of my beliefs. If I had been him, I’d probably have just kept my mouth shut.
Not very heroic of me, but Brees would be very vulnerable...
It was a better world when athletes had to work in the off-season.
I love sports as much as anyone, but as with entertainers, we’ve elevated athletes to a very unhealthy level.
I heard that 96% of Americans were appalled by the video and wanted the cops to face justice. You probably couldn't find more unity of opinion on any topic at any time in history.
Too bad that show of solidarity was torn apart by a small group of hooligans, thugs, thieves and murderers.
If any NFL player was in a position to speak his mind and shrug off the consequences, it was him.
Instead, he chose to kneel.
Thanks, NP.
Legislative remedy needed. Leftist corporate power run amok. Nobody should lose a nonpolitical job just for his/her political views.
RIP.
Cancelled.
‘What’s the matter, Drew? Your balls drop off?’
[Drew Brees is one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL history. He has already made nearly a quarter of a BILLION dollars in salary alone - excluding endorsements. And, he’s already 41, which is long past retirement age for most NFL QB’s.
If any NFL player was in a position to speak his mind and shrug off the consequences, it was him.
Instead, he chose to kneel. ]
The history of Communism shows one of the big problems with utilitarianism. Even if you think it’s OK in principle to sacrifice the few for the many, you have to be leery of the fact that somehow it was the guys doing the utilitarian calculus who seemed to wind up with the omelet, such as it was, and other people’s eggs that got broken.
Robert Wright correctly emphasizes how much our moral judgements are likely to be skewed by self-serving self-deception. The commandment to maximize total happiness — subject to no side constraints on avoiding harm, leaving well-enough alone, and minding one’s own business — may allow an especially wide scope for screwing people over in the name of Doing Good. ]
The NFL is dead to me.
The entire entertainment/media industry is dead to me.
Let it all burn!
And that is exactly the point of it all.
Brees should have just kept his mouth shut and not said anything. Like the rest of them he's only an athlete. Just shut up, and play the damned game. I don't want to hear their opinions on politics.
One thing I will say - if Brees wants to go into GOP politics, refusing to kneel and then asking to be let out of the contract would be an excellent campaign kickoff maneuver.
I’m through with football. Brees had a chance to stand up for free speech and blew it like a 2 bit whore.
+1
He finally saw the error of his ways.
Thank you for bringing this song to my attention. I haven’t heard it in years.
I’m in the process of creating an iPhone playlist about this mess and have been looking for songs to add.
This will be a good song to follow “Uprising” by Muse.
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