San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman believes Drew Brees is "beyond lost" after the New Orleans Saints quarterback made comments about kneeling during the national anthem in protest of social injustice. The topic, of course, has been thrust back into the forefront, given recent events.
"I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America, or our country," Brees told Yahoo! Finance (h/t to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports for the find and the transcription).
Sherman is among the many NFL players disappointed in Brees' recent comments. The Saints quarterback even mentioned his two grandfathers who fought for the country during World War II as a reason for his opinion, to which Sherman responded with the following:
He's beyond lost. Guarantee you there were black men fighting along side your grandfather but this doesn't seem to be about that. That uncomfortable conversation you are trying to avoid by injecting military into a conversation about brutality and equality is part of the problem https://t.co/ON81UsOWPw pic.twitter.com/HH3EVTIH8p
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) June 3, 2020
The misconception by many is that the protests in 2016 and 2017 were about disrespecting the flag. In fact, Colin Kaepernick started kneeling after a discussion with ex-Green Beret Nate Boyer, who helped the former 49ers quarterback to find a more respectful way of protesting during the national anthem as opposed to sitting during the pre-game tradition.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area recently shared an interesting story during a KNBR interview of the reporter asking Kaepernick why he kneeled during the anthem but not the singing of "God Bless America" during a preseason game. The quarterback made it clear that the reason was that his protest had nothing to do with the flag or military and everything to do with using the platform to create awareness surrounding a great wrong in this country.
"He's not protesting America, his hate for America, or his disdain for the flag or the military or the national anthem," Maiocco shared of his discussions with Kaepernick. "It is simply a protest to shed light on racial inequality. Then he said, 'The playing of God Bless America, that's different.' That's not part of the protest.
"He gave the quote of, 'I love America. I want to see America be better.' That was his goal in all of this."
Brees did note that he is well aware that everything isn't perfect in this country.
"Is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not," Brees continued. "We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows we are all in this together, we can all do better, and that we are all part of the solution."
Sherman wasn't the only 49ers player who commented on what Brees had to say. Kwon Alexander and Arik Armstead chimed in, as well.
Smh Drew‼️
— Kwon Alexander (@kwon) June 3, 2020
@drewbrees you must not know that @NateBoyer37 a veteran just like your grandfather advised @Kaepernick7 to kneel as a sign of respect and peaceful protest. https://t.co/wRCmcygA3T
— Arik Armstead (@arikarmstead) June 3, 2020
Boyer even responded to Armstead's comment.
Appreciate that brother... not enough people know the whole story, that taking a knee was a product of conversation between two very different people that both want our country to be better.
— Nate Boyer (@NateBoyer37) June 3, 2020
