NFL quarterback Drew Brees has drawn backlash from athletes and others around the country for his comments on kneeling during the national anthem, where he said "I will never agree with someone disrespecting the flag of the United States." He added that the national anthem reminds him of his grandfathers who served in the military. Brees' comments didn't sit well with NBA great LeBron James who wrote on Twitter: "Wow, man! You still don't understand why Kaep was kneeling on one knee? It has absolutely nothing to do with the disrespect of the American flag or our soldiers who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those." Colin Kaepernick, who first knelt during the anthem in 2016, didn't directly comment on Brees' thoughts. He did, however, retweet a pic of Brees kneeling with his teammates before a game that the NBA's Kyle Kuzma captioned with "This shows you that there are a lot of companies and people out there that will say they stand with us but only do it so they don't get bashed - not because they mean it." Even Brees' former Saints teammate, Malcolm Jenkins, posted to Twitter "Drew Brees, if you don't understand how hurtful, how insensitive your comments are, you are apart of the problem."
Brees issued a statement apologizing this morning on Instagram, his post is below...