Killer Mike responded to NFL star Drew Brees’ comments earlier this week about players kneeling during the National Anthem. Asked by Yahoo about his opinion on the protests — which were begun in 2016 by Colin Kaepernick to protest police brutality against Black people — Brees said, “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.” Today on ESPN’s Jalen Vs. Everybody with Jalen Rose, Mike replied by pointing out the hypocrisy of the statement and the backlash against kneeling protests.
“The American flag stands for the First Amendment and the ability to say what you feel about situations,” Mike explained. “Now, you bear the brunt of it. You may get blackballed out of the NFL, but you have the right to [protest]. So if you support and you don’t wanna see the American flag disrespected, don’t look at it on Budweiser shorts at picnics. Don’t look at it in bikini shots in Playboy. Don’t look at it on your favorite album covers because you think that rock band is rocking for you. Be all the way with it. You’re an intelligent football player but that was an incredibly stupid thing to say.”
For his part, Brees received backlash on social media and from the sports community at large, with former ESPN commentator Jemele Hill noting, “Drew Brees is why people shouldn’t assume that just because someone white is around black people that they understand black issues.” Meanwhile, LeBron James also responded, saying the quarterback “still doesn’t understand” why Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem in 2016 and what the protests mean.
https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/126830958438226739×2
Brees has since issued an apology on Instagram, saying, “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.” A lengthy explanation follows, which you can read below.
Watch Killer Mike’s full interview with Jalen Rose above.
