LeBron James Rips Drew Brees’ Take On National Anthem Protests: ‘You Literally Still Don’t Understand?’
LeBron James is taking Drew Brees to task. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar tweeted his reaction to Brees’ response to a question about Colin Kaepernick’s silent gesture of kneeling during the National Anthem.
“Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee??” James tweeted, in part.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Brees’ remarks came in response to a question from Yahoo Finance editor-at-large Daniel Roberts. Given the escalated racial tension in the United States following the death of George Floyd, Roberts asked Brees about his feelings on potentially seeing demonstrations like Kaepernick’s begin anew when the 2020 NFL season begins. Brees began his response by saying he will never agree with anyone “disrespecting the flag of the United States of America.” He then invoked the military service of his grandfathers in WWII, “risking their lives to protect our country.”
“So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about,” Brees said.
In his rebuke, James cited the service of his own father-in-law and took issue with what he perceived as a lack of understanding on Brees’ behalf.
“[The protest] Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of [the flag] and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those men who fought as well for this country. I asked him question about it and thank him all the time for his commitement [sic]. He never found Kap peaceful protest offensive because he and I both know what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong!” James tweeted, accompanied by a face-palm emoji.
In the time since his remarks were made public, Drew Brees has become the No.1 trend on Twitter in the United States. Many users have expressed their frustration and disgust with his seemingly tone-deaf comments.
In addition to sharing his reaction to Brees’ statement, James has been using his platform to speak out during these times of increased tension across the nation. On Tuesday, May 26, he shared an iconic image that has gone viral. The composite image featured a screen capture from the video taken of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, which resulted in his death. Juxtaposed with Chauvin was an image of Kaepernick on one knee, in silent protest on the sidelines in his San Francisco 49ers gear. Accompanying the images was a simple set of three words: “This… is why.”
