NEW Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees drew the ire of NBA great LeBron James when he said on Wednesday, he does not feel NFL players should kneel during the national anthem and called the gesture disrespectful to the American flag.
Brees was asked during an appearance on Yahoo Finance’s On the Move about the possibility of players protesting against racial injustice by kneeling during the anthem when the NFL’s 2020 season kicks off in September.
Colin Kaepernick popularized the gesture of kneeling during pre-game renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 2016 while a member of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. He became a free agent after that season.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees told the program before explaining that when he hears the anthem, he thinks of his two grandfathers who served in the military.
“Is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long way to go.
But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity.”
