“NO KNEELING!” – Donald Trump once infamously blasted Drew Brees for apologizing over his critical remarks about kneeling during national anthems
NFL players used to kneel during the national anthems as protest against police brutality.
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There used to be a time in the NFL when the players protested police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. Started by the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016, the movement spread around the US sports world like wildfire. Furthermore, the divided opinion on the issues also led to the Saints legend Drew Brees getting blasted by former US President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, who was the President of the United States during that time, started thrashing the protests as soon as the movement started. During a rally in Alabama in 2017, Trump called for the firing of the athletes who were kneeling during the national anthems since he believed it to be disrespectful to the flag of America. Furthermore, the 45th President of the US claimed that his stance against the protest had nothing to do with race, but he’s simply against the people who disrespect the flag.
However, following his critical remarks, the protest got big and many athletes from all the major sports joined the movement by kneeling during the anthem. After the movement got bigger in 2020, there were some players who were against kneeling, including the New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees, who implied that the protesters are unpatriotic and said that he will disagree with anything that disrespects the United States flag.
Brees faced heavy backlash for his critical remarks about the movement, even from his own teammates. So, the one-time Super Bowl Champion ended up apologizing on social media for hurting people with his comments.
Donald Trump once thrashed Drew Brees for apologizing
While Drew Brees made amends with one side, he made some enemies on the other side. One of them was the US Donald Trump. He took shots at the 13-time Pro Bowl QB Brees via social media.
“I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high… We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag – NO KNEELING!,” tweeted Donald Trump after Brees apologized in June 2020.
However, the movement just got bigger and bigger through the years. Moreover, it even went international, as clubs from international sports like soccer took part in the kneeling protest against racial inequality and systemic oppression.
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Aravind Raj
(2075 Articles Published)