In light of all the civil unrest in the nation, Shaq, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley met on the set of “Inside the NBA” last night to discuss their thoughts on the ongoing protests and the death of George Floyd.
At one point during the show, Drew Brees came up and the guys began to respond to Brees statement, in which he admitted he was against anybody who decided to protest the flag or national anthem.
Barkley actually came to his defense by insisting Brees isn’t a bad guy, he’s just someone who may not have the full story.
“It was insensitive, especially during this time,” Barkley said. “I thought the negative reaction from every talking head on television and some of his teammates was overkill. I never heard a bad word about Drew Brees in my life. He made a mistake.”
Shaq and Kenny also spoke on the subject.
“It made it worse that it was Drew Brees, someone who we cheer for, who has teammates like us, that didn’t get us,” said Smith. “Someone who is in the locker room every day. He doesn’t have the same excuse others may have had.”
“Someone we cheered for is using his white privilege to say he couldn’t understand what we were going through in that moment,” he added. “That was very offensive to me.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1268702626499026945
Brees has since apologized for his statement, but things may never be the same for him. His misunderstanding of the situation really calls into question his ignorance of the movement.
But it doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. In fact, Drew Brees has done a lot of good for the New Orleans community and he has always been revered by his teammates.
Barkley called it a mistake, and it seems like that’s exactly what it is. Hopefully, more people come to understand what the BLM movement is and why they do what they do.
