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Saints QB Drew Brees Apologizes for 'Insensitive' Comments on Instagram

By Braulio Perez

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has apologized for his 'insensitive' comments made about protests during the National Anthem.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has apologized for his 'insensitive' comments made about protests during the National Anthem. /

Countless athletes across the country took to social media on Wednesday to blast Drew Brees for his take on protests during the National Anthem. The New Orleans Saints quarterback said he'd "never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country." Yup, pretty much the worst possible timing to say something like that.

After receiving so much backlash, Brees has taken to Instagram to post an emotional apology to everyone he offended, including his teammates.

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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 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. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. 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. This is where I stand: I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today. 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. I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement. I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right. I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy. I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening...and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen. For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.

Una publicación compartida por Drew Brees (@drewbrees) el

The future Hall of Famer held himself accountable for his actions, letting the public know he feels sick for how his comments were perceived. As soon as the video of Brees discussing all of this surfaced, he was bombarded with negative messages.

LeBron James blasted Brees on Twitter, while his new teammate Malcolm Jenkins took to Instagram to do the same.

Multiple other New Orleans Saints players let Brees know just how furious they were with his choice of words. This included Michael Thomas, who has been hauling in passes from Brees since 2016.

In his statement, Brees vowed to stop talking and do more listening. He's already had a private conversation with Jenkins to hear his thoughts, so we can expect more discussions with his teammates to come.