Drew Brees' apology only shows he still does not understand

He still doesn't get it.

Drew Brees, of course, apologized this morning.

The New Orleans quarterback said Wednesday, when asked about the prospect of NFL players once again taking a knee during the national anthem to protest inequality, that he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.” That led, literally, to people in New Orleans cursing his name.

The apology, of course, is inept. I assume some public relations consultant under the employ of the Saints or Brees himself helped to shape the statement, but it could have just as easily been conjured up by the most basic AI program using all the flimsy statements released in recent days by teams and corporations.

It sounds nice. It tries to soar. It says nothing.

Booger McFarland, always one to state the obvious, stated the obvious immediately:

If Drew Brees can’t simply type out — or pay somebody to type out for him — these words, then there’s no need to bother with a supposed apology:

“I’m sorry for misconstruing the point of Colin Kaepernick’s protest and now understand that, truly, I should simply listen and try to learn.”

That’s it. That’s what Drew Brees needs to say. And he did not. Would not.

Brees obviously thinks his hard-line stance on standing for the anthem and flag is patriotic. And that his view — which he says is informed by the fact that he had relatives who fought in wars — is supreme.

Drew Brees sees Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem and does not ask, “Why do you kneel?” He says, instead: “You are disrespecting the flag of the United States of America and our country.”

He doesn’t even give Kaepernick the dignity of owning his own action. He doesn’t even offer him a moment to try to explain a gesture meant to stoke discussion.

Brees has head nearly four years — FOUR YEARS — to try to understand why his gut reaction is wrong. To listen to Kaepernick himself say it’s not about the military. To understand that Kaepernick literally sought out a Green Beret, Nate Boyer, to understand how best to *respectfully* protest.

Brees ignores all of that. Only his interpretation matters to him.

What remains most disgusting about Brees’ outlook is that he — one of the greatest to ever play the game of football, an idol to millions — upholds the most basic canard used by racists to ignore or disable what Kaepernick and so many others are expressing: That unless it is said in a manner meant not to offend, it does not need to be heard.

What an absurd notion. One that disrespects the ethos upon which this country — a forceful protest against tyranny — was founded. Kneeling, or shouting in the streets, to point out that America hasn’t come close to establishing the freedom it sought to create is absolutely the most American thing to do.

Brees refuses to see that. He speaks instead of “unity” in the wake of another black man’s death at the hands of police. How grotesque.

Brees proclaims “I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy.”

A real ally would at least try to understand the mission of those he would help.

He says he will listen to the black community, but he hasn’t and shows no willingness or ability to start.

He still prefers to tell them what they mean when they dare to try to speak.