Thousands of people have been protesting in the streets of major U.S. cities for days demanding justice after George Floyd was killed. People are demanding a change to police reform and the Black Lives Matter movement is at the center of that fight.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is not a fan of kneeling in protest.

Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about "players kneeling again when the NFL season starts."@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”

Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020

In an interview with Yahoo! Business, Brees spoke on the peaceful kneeling protests. While thousands of people continue to march and protest to demand justice, Brees gave a sound bite that has not done him any favors.

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees said in the interview. “And is everything right with our country right now? No. It’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And that we are all part of the solution.”

Brees seems to have missed why protesters were kneeling during the national anthem.

Drew Brees’ granddaddies came back home, perhaps to a local parade. My uncles and dad came back home to people saying, “Get on the back of the bus.” And they all sacrificed to serve this nation! Brees still doesn’t get that. pic.twitter.com/4iSqH5otrA

— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) June 4, 2020

ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon took issue with Brees’s statement for calling into question someone’s patriotism if they kneel during the national anthem.

“I believe the apology. I believe it was as sincere as and as heartfelt as he could possibly be and it reflects that,” Wilbon said in an interview. “That’s not my point today and I’m angry today, Tony. Even Drew Brees in his apology, he doesn’t address what it was that ticked off so many people, including me, which is essentially the questioning of anybody, and let’s say that anybody in this case if black people, who want to take a knee and have a protest during the national anthem when the flag is raised at sporting events.”

Brees apologized on Instagram after receiving backlash for his comments.

View this post on Instagram

I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character. This is where I stand: I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference. I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today. I acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community. I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement. I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right. I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy. I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen. For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.

A post shared by Drew Brees (@drewbrees) on Jun 4, 2020 at 5:22am PDT

His apology has been received with mixed reviews. Some people have come to Brees’s support claiming his message has been misunderstood. Others, like Wilbon see the apology as a half-apology coming from a need to preserve a public image, not a genuine reflection on his actions.

One of the people to have forgiven Brees is teammate Michael Thomas.

One of my brothers made a public statement yesterday that I disagreed with. He apologized & I accept it because that’s what we are taught to do as Christians. Now back to the movement! #GeorgeFloyd

— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 4, 2020

Michael Thomas is a wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints and he was one of the first to come to Brees’s defense after he issued his apology. Several other teammates came to his defense and all of them expressed both a disappointment at Brees’s insensitive comments and a willingness to forgive him after see his apology and feeling it genuine.

What do you think about Brees’s comments?

READ: White Teens Are Mocking The George Floyd Killing On Social Media And This Is Why We Need #BlackLivesMatter

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The NFL has made some limited successes in breaking into an international audience. Part of that strategy has been playing games abroad. Mexico City and London have hosted several NFL games to bring the American sport to international crowds. However, like everything else we love, the NFL is canceling these games because COVID-19 is still a thing.

The NFL is canceling its London and Mexico City games for the 2020 season.

The Cardinals won't play in Mexico City this year: https://t.co/xcVu8YY9Lg

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) May 4, 2020

The NFL is canceling the games because of the uncertainty surrounding travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has infected more than 1.2 million Americans and killed more than 77,000. The U.S. has the highest infection and death numbers in the world from the pandemic.

Officials for the NFL made the decision to move the games from abroad for the overall goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Due to uncertainty with COVID-19, the NFL will call off its International Series games in London and Mexico City, per @vxmcclure23. The #Falcons, #Dolphins, #Cardinals and #Jaguars (twice) were the teams originally scheduled to host international games in 2020.

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) May 4, 2020

“After considerable analysis, we believe the decision to play all our games domestically this season is the right one for our players, our clubs, and all our fans in the US, Mexico, and UK,” NFL executive vice president, chief strategy and growth officer Christopher Halpin said in a statement. “We greatly appreciate the support of our governmental and stadium partners in Mexico and the United Kingdom, who all agree with this decision, and we look forward to returning for games in both countries in the 2021 season.”

As some countries begin to ease some of their lockdown measures, the fear of a second wave is looming over the global community. Some countries have already seen some second spikes that they have fought to combat.

International fans of the sport are saddened by the news but understand.

Gutted! But necessary

— Matthew Evans⚫️⚪️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@EvansScfc) May 4, 2020

The international games are the only chance for foreign fans to enjoy American football. With a few games a year, these fans really look forward to finally being able to don their favorite team’s jersey to cheer them on to victory.

“We also thank our incredible fans in those territories for their passionate support of the NFL,” Halpin said in a statement. “We will continue to serve them through our outstanding media partners and by being active supporters of both grassroots football and COVID-19 relief efforts in Mexico and the UK.”

Even American fans are sad that the teams are missing out on their international games.

Dang that sucks, I really liked it at 9am. Football all day long was pretty nice

— toadally anxiety (@toadaldamage) May 4, 2020

If there is one thing that football fans love it is more football. The international games would play in the morning in the U.S. offering a full day of football before Saturday Night Foot. It is hard to overdo something that you love and football is something that people who love really love.

There was one thing of which all of the fans on social media agreed.

The 8 Jaguars fans all in London rn pic.twitter.com/eKIOnPk42r

— Ron (@ronology2_) May 4, 2020

The Jaguars in an international game? For some fans, it was too much to understand. The Jacksonville team is not the most popular in the league and their season is calling for 16 away games this season.

READ: A Man Was Arrested By ICE After Criticizing Their Policies So Two NFL Players Bailed Him Out

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