USA TODAY International Edition
Brees must go beyond more than an apology
Crafting an apology and wading through Google to find the exact right photo to accompany it – empathetic! inspiring! hopeful! – was the easy part.
But Drew Brees needs to prove there is substance to his mea culpa, that his wasn’t yet another word salad from someone who doesn’t get it and just wants all of this to go away.
The Saints’ quarterback posted an apology on Instagram on Thursday for the firestorm he set off the previous day by mischaracterizing protests by Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players as “disrespecting the flag.” Brees didn’t apologize for the mischaracterization, mind you, a perpetuation of the spin used to discredit and dismiss the protests, but rather said he was sorry he’d been misunderstood.
“Those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character,” Brees wrote.
He then went on to say he stands “with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference.”
And that he acknowledges not enough has been done “to fight for … equality or to truly understand the struggle and plight of the black community.”
Great. Now put those words into action.
Brees has a long – and impressive – history of charitable work in New Orleans, including donating $ 5 million in March to provide meals to Louisiana residents. He knows how activism works. He could join a protest. Make another donation, this time to researchers studying the harmful impact systemic racism has on the health of people of color, given that African Americans are twice as likely to die of COVID- 19 and New Orleans has been one of the cities hit hardest by the pandemic.
Better yet, partner with the groups that are trying to address those disparities in health.
Brees acknowledged he needs to “do less talking and more listening” – what he’s been doing the last four years, I’m not quite sure – so organize listening tours that will enlighten white Americans about the advantages conferred upon them simply because of their skin. Meet with black and brown veterans to learn about their experiences in the military and, more important, how they view the protests.
And given that Brees is a co- founder of a coed flag football league with teams in Louisiana, California, Ohio, Illinois and Texas, insist it include anti- racism education.
There are other steps Brees will need to take with his teammates and fellow athletes, many of whom were livid with him. Understandably so. Aside from being utterly tone- deaf when the country is roiling with anger over George Floyd’s death, Brees essentially told his teammates that a flag, an inanimate object meant to be a symbol of our freedoms and ideals, matters more to him than their humanity.
“If you don’t understand that other people’s experience is something totally different than you, then when you talk about the brotherhood and all this other ( expletive), it’s just lip service. Or it’s only on the field,” Malcolm Jenkins said in an Instagram video, his voice thick with emotion.
“Because when we step off this field and I take my helmet off, I’m a black man walking around America. I’m telling you I’m dealing with these things and I’m telling you my community is dealing with these things, and your response to me is, ‘ Don’t talk about that here, this is not the place.’
“Where is the place Drew? I’m disappointed. I’m hurt. Because while the world tells you that you’re not worthy, that your life doesn’t matter, the last place you want to hear it from are the guys that you go to war with and that you consider to be allies and to be your friends.”
This is why Brees’ apology, while impressive on its face, isn’t good enough. Not yet, at least.
The protests by Kaepernick and other NFL players were never about respect for the flag or the anthem or the military or anything else. They were about respecting the lives and worth of black and brown people, who are still treated as “less than” in every aspect of our society.
Until Brees acknowledges that, his words will be as generic as that photo he posted.