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New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins spoke to Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks about racism and quarterback Drew Brees’ situation regarding his comments on kneeling during the national anthem.
Brees made the headlines a few weeks ago when he said during an interview with Yahoo Finance that he disagreed with kneeling down during the anthem due to his belief that he is disrespectful to the flag.
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Spotlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the NFL star quarterback thinks about “players kneeling again when the NFL season begins.” @drewbrees: “I will never agree with anyone who does not respect the flag of the United States of America or our country.” Full exchange: https://t.co/MpCkFyOMed
Given the current climate in the United States, with protests across the country opposing racial inequality, social injustice and police brutality following the murder of the 46-year-old black man George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on 25 May, There was a lot of reaction from Brees’ comments.
Some of Brees’ teammates condemned his comments, and Jenkins was among them.
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While talking to Rooks, Jenkins talked about how he explained to Brees why what he said was offensive to blacks:
“I honestly don’t think he necessarily knew what he wasn’t saying. And I tried to tell him, ‘Your thoughts on the flag are yours. You’re open to that opinion, I have no problem with that opinion. No one is hurt because of how you you feel about the flag, we actually know that about you and we expect that from you. But it’s more about recognizing what it can mean to me or what it may not mean to me. Not even about the flag, just about the whole Demonstration in general, what it is about, recognizing that pain or that complaint or grievance that I have is really what it comes down to. ”
Shortly after making the flag comments, Brees apologized in a lengthy Instagram post and wrote that he “completely missed the mark” in his words.
When asked by Rooks if he thinks Brees really understands why he was wrong, Jenkins replied in the affirmative:
“I think obviously with all the backlash with him talking to a lot of the guys that he’s closest to and he’s played with during his long career, he contacted a lot of us, myself included, and I think those Guys being able to tell someone like Drew Brees the truth that ‘Your words hurt because of this’, I think that really helped him realize how profound it was for his teammates and for other people who didn’t share his experience. I think he understands that sometimes there is an opportunity for you to really just listen and be much more careful, especially as polarized as our country. “
In addition to Brees’ comments, Jenkins addressed the issue of racism as a whole. Jenkins is of the opinion that someone does not necessarily have to hate blacks to be racist.
Jenkins expanded on that idea by suggesting that racism is really about power:
“When it comes to racism, people have to understand that they can deal with hate, but you don’t have to hate people to be racist. Race has a lot to do with your prejudice and the ability to exercise some kind of power. That’s why you hear that many blacks say blacks can’t be racist. “
Jenkins is one of many athletes who have spoken out against racism over the years, but especially in the past month due to recent events.
NFL players from all races have been especially outspoken, and it seems likely that most or possibly all teams will kneel during the national anthem in 2020, which is a practice that originated with then-49ers quarterback Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
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