NFL star Drew Brees draws criticism for 'disrespecting the flag' remarks

National Football League (NFL) quarterback Drew Brees has received a flurry of criticism after reiterating that he will never agree with anyone disrespecting the flag of United States of America in protest of police brutality.

The 41-year-old New Orleans Saints star's comments came when he was asked how the NFL will response if the season restarts and players resume kneeling during the national anthem as former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick used to do before games in 2016 in his protest of police brutality against minorities.

Replying to the same, Brees said that he considers it disrespectful for players to kneel during the national anthem.

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees told Yahoo Finance  in the interview. 

Brees said he envisions his grandfathers and other military men and women who risked their lives for th country whenever he looks at the flag and stand with his hand over his heart during the anthem.

"I love and respect my teammates, and I stand right there with them in regards to fighting for racial equality and justice. I also stand with my grandfathers who risked their lives for this country and countless other military men and women who do it on a daily basis," he added.

“And is everything right with our country right now? No. It is not. 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 that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And that we are all part of the solution," Brees said.

Brees' remarks drew outrage on social media, with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James also arguing that Kaepernick's protest in 2016 had absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of the national flag and the country's soldiers.

"WOW MAN!!. Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of US and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those," James wrore in his official Twitter handle.

WOW MAN!!. Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free. My father-in-law was one of those https://t.co/pvUWPmh4s8 — LeBron James (@KingJames) June 3, 2020

This is not the first time Brees has made comments on national flag. In 2016, he had lashed out at Kaepernick for sitting during the anthem, saying it was “disrespectful to the American flag”.

Brees' comments came after the US confronted a wave of protests following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis who was pinned by his neck by a white police officer for almost nine minutes to the street during an arrest caught on a video. The officer was arrested and charged with third-degree murder.