SOURCE SPORTS: Drew Brees’ Wife Issues Statement on Husband’s Protest Comments

Drew Brees’ initial comments on NFL players kneeling brought a ton of heat from fans, teammates, and supporters of the protests. In response to the criticism, Brees issued an apology on social media and now his wife, Brittany is following up with a statement of her own.

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From the Brees Dream Foundation Instagram account, Brittany Brees in plain language says, “we are the problem,” regarding the lack of understanding of what the protest was about.

“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 notions of what that flag means to us,” Mrs. Brees said.

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Brees also reveals “with tears in my eyes” that their family has been receiving death threats as a reaction to Drew’s initial opposition to the protest.

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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

Drew himself has tried to respond to the critics and to one of his apparent supporters, Donald Trump, who said Brees should have never apologized. In a direct response to the president, the New Orleans Saints Quarterback writes on Instagram, “We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities… we must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial and prison reform.”