Saints quarterback Drew Brees touched off a lot of reactions on Wednesday when he said he will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag when asked about the possibility of players taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem before games this season.
Most of those reactions pointed out that Colin Kaepernick and players who took a knee were doing so to protest police brutality and racial inequality rather than the United States flag. Another veteran NFL quarterback noted the same later in the day.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers posted a picture of himself locking arms with teammates before a game and pointed out that some were critical of that approach as well.
“A few years ago we were criticized for locking arms in solidarity before the game. It has NEVER been about an anthem or a flag,” Rodgers wrote. “Not then. Not now. Listen with an open heart, let’s educate ourselves, and then turn word and thought into action.”
Outside of posting a black square on Instagram to observe Blackout Tuesday, this is Rodgers’ first public comment since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer late last month.