Drew Brees’ Wife Joins Her Husband in Kneeling Apology

As the national outrage continues over the details of George Floyd's death continues to rage, another apologetic voice has joined the fray - Brittany Brees.

Last week, New Orleans Saint's quarterback Drew Brees apologized for remarks he made in reference to NFL players protesting police brutality by kneeling during the National Anthem performed before games.  This protest was led by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Collin Kapernick - seen below taking a knee before a game against the Dallas Cowboys in California at Levi's Stadium on October 2, 2016.

Many off those in the NFL (including Mr. and Mrs. Brees) denounced such protests as "disrespectful to our flag."  Drew Brees reiterated his stance by stating “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States,” during an interview with Yahoo Finance last week.  That comment drew so much negative feedback, the longtime quarterback had to rethink his position.

On an Instagram post Brees made last week, he retracted his statement calling it "insensitive."  He even went so far as to write a letter to the president in order to clearly state: “I realize this is not an issue about the American flag” after President Trump criticized him for apologizing.

Now, it looks like backtracking those statements has become a family affair.  According to the Shreveport Times, Brittany Brees is standing firmly by her husband - and has issued an apology of her own via the Brees Dream Foundation's official Instagram page.  Her post over the weekend featured several quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a lengthy message:

View this post on Instagram

WE ARE THE PROBLEM . I write this with tears in my eyes and I hope you all hear our hearts. I have read these quotes and scripture 1000 times and every time I read it and the words sink into my heart. I think yes this is what it’s all about...Only until the last few days ,until we experienced the death threats we experienced the hate… Did I realize that these words were speaking directly to us.. how could anyone who knows us or has had interactions with us think that Drew or I have a racist bone in our body? But that’s the whole point . Somehow we as white America, we can feel good about not being racist, feel good about loving one an another as God loves us. We can feel good about educating our children about the horrors of slavery and history. We can read books to our children about Martin Luther King, Malcolm X., Hank Aaron, Barack Obama, Rosa parks, Harriet Tubman.. and feel like we are doing our part to raise our children to love , be unbiased and with no prejudice. To teach them about all of the African Americans that have fought for and risked their lives against racial injustice. Somehow as white Americans we feel like that checks the box of doing the right thing. Not until this week did Drew and I realize THAT THIS IS THE PROBLEM. To say “I don’t agree with disrespecting the flag “.. I now understand was also saying I don’t understand what the problem really is, I don’t understand what you’re fighting for, and I’m not willing to hear you because of our preconceived notion‘s of what that flag means to us. That’s the problem we are not listening, white America is not hearing. We’re not actively LOOKING for racial prejudice. We have heard stories from men and women we have known and loved for years about the racism that occurred in their lives .. stories that were never shared or talked about because somehow they were considered normal. To all of our friends and anyone we hurt ...we will do better.. We want to do better , we want to HEAR you, and we will fight for you because thinking we are not part of the problem...is checking the box it means we are are not doing enough. It’s our job to educate ourselves. We are sorry 🙏🏻 -Brittany Brees

A post shared by Brees Dream Foundation (@breesdreamfoundation) on Jun 5, 2020 at 1:55pm PDT