Backlash against Drew Brees has been wide, swift and pointed after he weighed in on NFL player protests.
Malcolm Jenkins may have delivered the sharpest rebuke. The New Orleans Saints safety and political activist shared critical words for his teammate in an emotional video Wednesday afternoon.
What Drew Brees said
Brees told Yahoo Finance Wednesday that he doesn’t want to see players kneeling during the national anthem.
Brees then talked about what the flag means to him while mentioning his grandfathers fighting in wars.
LeBron James, Richard Sherman and Julius Peppers joined an outpouring of criticism for the New Orleans Saints quarterback whose comments condemning players for kneeling carry extra weight in the midst of the national crisis sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police.
Malcolm Jenkins’ response
Nobody was quite as blunt as Jenkins, who posted a video telling Brees to “shut the f- up” on Instagram. The founding member of the Players Coalition and vocal black rights advocate has frequently pushed back against the faulty narrative that Colin Kaepernick’s protest targeted patriotism and the military instead police brutality and social injustice.
He wasn’t hearing it from Brees in the midst of a national referendum on race relations.
Jenkins deletes, posts new video
Jenkins initially posted the video on Instagram before deleting it. He then posted another video within the hour where he again called Brees “a part of the problem.”
He wrote that he decided to post the second video after having a conversation with Brees.
Jenkins then criticized Brees for calling out a peaceful protest in the middle of the crisis that’s seen peaceful and violent protests break out in cities nationwide on a nightly basis.
Other Saints players call out Brees
Jenkins, an 11-year NFL veteran, returned to the Saints in the offseason after six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He wasn’t Brees’ only teammate to condemn his words on Wednesday.
Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas also criticized their quarterback on Wednesday. Healing will be needed in the Saints locker room this fall.
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