ALLEN PARK -- Saints quarterback Drew Brees was anti-kneeling during the NFL protests in 2017. Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin was among the kneelers.
Now Brees has doubled down on his take in the wake of this week’s protests against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, and Reeves-Maybin isn’t having it.
“This guy doesn’t (bleeping) get it,” the linebacker said in a tweet on Wednesday. “This is a lesson in #WhitePrivelege”
The NFL protests began when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016. While he drew intense criticism from some people claiming he was anti-flag, anti-police or anti-military, Kaepernick repeatedly said he was anti-police brutality and was protesting for social justice.
Kaepernick couldn’t find a job the following year, and president Donald Trump later said in September of 2017 that players like Kaepernick who were kneeling during the anthem were “sons of (expletives)” who should be fired.
Trump’s comments sparked protests across the league the following Sunday, including in Detroit. Players immediately began texting each other about how they could protest before a game against Atlanta at Ford Field, while also still respecting the anthem. Nearly every player participated in some form of protest, including eight players who elected to kneel: Running back Ameer Abdullah, linebacker Tahir Whitehead, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, defensive end Cornelius Washington, defensive tackle Akeem Spence, linebacker Steve Longa, defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter and Reeves-Maybin.
Reeves-Maybin, then a 22-year-old rookie, is the only kneeler left with the team. He said he was flooded with hate messages after his protest, including getting the N-word “all day" and wishes for him to develop brain disease.
“People are saying, like, ‘I hope you get CTE,’” Reeves-Maybin said after the protest. “Or, ‘I hope you can’t play with your kids when you get done playing,’ Stuff like that."
The NFL protests against police brutality have returned to the news in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last week. Floyd is a black man who died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. The death has been ruled a homicide by an independent medical examiner.
Chauvin was originally charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He now faces a charge of second-degree murder, and three other officers involved in the death have been charged aiding and abetting a second-degree murder and aiding and abetting a second-degree manslaughter.
Down in New Orleans, Brees said he supported the cause but disagreed with using the time during the anthem to communicate it. He explained his position during an interview with Yahoo! Finance.
"I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said. “Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corps, both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place.
“And in many cases, it brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed,” he added. “Not just those in the military but, for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s and everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.”
He has since faced a backlash across the league, including by his most notable teammate.