New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees caught heat for his comments on peaceful protests against police brutality from a Wednesday interview, following up with a public apology early Thursday morning.
It’s a start, but stronger actions should be expected from Brees to back up his words. While ESPN’s Diana Russini reports that the Saints plan to keep further dialogue in-house — having used the opportunity of a pre-scheduled Thursday team meeting to talk things out among themselves — Brees’ apology was accepted by teammates like Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan.
Others later chimed in, including two of Brees’ most-prominent weapons on offense: Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. Thomas kept his thoughts on the topic brief, but he’s pleased with where he and his quarterback stand now:
Kamara took a little more time to meditate on the situation. He was one of several Saints players to reach out to Brees privately, and he seemed satisfied with how they both left that conversation:
Still, Kamara later used the spotlight put on him to reflect at length on his experience as a young black man in America. We’ve embedded an excerpt below, but his full thoughts are very much worth your time:
Hopefully the Saints were able to weld their fractured locker room back together after the face of the franchise alienated many of his teammates. It’s early, but signs are positive so far. With thoughtful coworkers like Kamara, Thomas, Davis, and Jordan around him, Brees’ eyes should be opened a little wider to a different perspective.
