- So it is Thursday, my name is Philip DeFranco,
and this is part two of today's two part
Thursday, Philip DeFranco Show.
If you haven't seen part one yet, don't worry.
It's not really in any particular order,
you can click right up there
or it's the top link in the description right
after you watch this video.
But with that said,
let's talk about this very divisive topic.
It feels like anytime we cover this,
there's just a swarm of dislikes
and it's actually revolving around the situation
with Drew Brees.
So if you don't know,
Drew Brees is the New Orleans Saints quarterback,
or more importantly,
my quarterback in the fantasy football.
That took me to my super bowl win
after Patrick Mahomes tweaked his ankle
and wasn't getting as many points,
but oddly, the story isn't about how sad it is
that I care about fantasy football as much as I do.
The story is in part about and starts
with the topic of players kneeling during
the National Anthem at NFL Games resurfacing.
It's something that caused a massive deal.
When then 49ers quarterback,
Colin Kaepernick began kneeling at games in 2016.
There was a lot of support.
There was a lot of outrage.
Donald Trump took aim at Kaepernick and the NFL itself.
And so around this, you had one side saying,
"I'm taking a knee to take a stand against police brutality.
It's not anything about the flag.
It's not anything about the National Anthem.
It's trying to raise awareness."
Whereas one side just saw it as playing out disrespectful
towards the National Anthem,
the flag and the country.
Some saying that they even see it as a slight against those
who have put their lives on the line in the military.
And so yesterday Brees is asked how he thinks the NFL will
and should respond to players who kneel
in the upcoming season,
to which Brees responds,
- Well, I will never agree with anybody disrespecting
the flag of the United States of America
or our country.
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 envisioned 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.
So every time I stand with my hand over my heart,
looking at that flag
and singing the National Anthem,
that's what I think about.
- With Brees going on to say
that the flag symbolizes sacrifices made
not only by those in the military,
but also by those who have fought
for civil rights and adding.
- 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 then we are all part of the solution.
- And that just went viral.
And so this clip just blows up.
There's a massive reaction.
I mean, just the original video alone
has more than 11 million views.
It will sound like Tomi Lahren, congratulating Brees
"We're taking a stand with the flag."
Meanwhile, you had others saying that,
"He was tone deaf, that they were disappointed."
I mean, some of this even coming from a teammate,
- Our community is under siege
and we need help.
And what you're telling us is,
"Don't ask for help that way,
ask for it a different way.
I can't listen to it when you ask that way."
We're done asking Drew
and people who share sentiments,
who are expressed those
and push them throughout the world,
the airways,
are the problem.
And it's unfortunate because I considered you a friend.
I looked up to you,
you're somebody who I had a great deal of respect for,
but sometimes, you should shut the up.
- With Malcolm Jenkins saying Brees is blinded by privilege.
And that even though that they're teammates,
he can't let this slide.
- When we step off of this field
and I take my helmet off
and I'm a black man walking around America,
and I'm telling you,
I'm dealing with these things.
I'm telling you, my community's dealing with these things.
And your response to me is,
"Don't talk about that here.
This is not the place."
Drew where's the place Drew.
- Those are the likes of LeBron James saying,
"Wow, man.
Is it still surprising at this point?
Sure isn't.
You literally still don't understand
why Cap was kneeling on one knee,
has absolutely nothing to do
with the disrespect of the flag and our soldiers,
men and women who keep our land free."
Now in part of what we ended up seeing last night is
that in a statement to ESPN Brees appear to be doubling down
on his comments saying,
"I believe we should all stand for the National Anthem
and respect our country and all those who sacrifice
so much for our freedoms.
That includes all of those who marched
for women's suffrage in the 1920s
and all those who marched in the civil rights movements
and continue to March for racial equality.
All of us,
everyone represent that flag."
And still after that,
the pressure kept mounting and mounting.
And what we ended up seeing this morning
is in an Instagram post,
we saw a Brees apologize writing,
"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 in any type of compassion or empathy."
And adding, "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."
Which of course is something like this does resulted
in a number of people thanking him for these new comments.
Some saying, "It's not enough."
And a number of people disappointed
that he is now apologizing.
But kind of the last thing
I want to touch on with this story,
actually involves Laura Ingraham of Fox News.
I mean, shut up and dribble herself,
who I believe he gets paid like $15 million a year
to be a professional fearmonger.
And something interesting that came out of this,
is you had people comparing a clip of her talking
about LeBron James having a political opinion
and a clip of her talking about Drew Brees,
having a political opinion.
- It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone
who gets paid a $100 million a year to bounce a ball.
Oh, and LeBron and Kevin,
they're great players,
but no one voted for you.
Millions elected Trump to be their coach.
So keep the political commentary to yourself
or as someone once said, "Shut up and dribble."
Well, he's allowed to have his view about
what kneeling and the flag means to him.
I mean, he's a person.
He has some worth, I would imagine.
I mean, this is beyond football though.
This is totalitarian conduct.
This is Stalinist.
And by the way, on the streets of New Orleans,
we're looking at Live pictures.
They're shouting F Drew Brees.
That's what's--
- [Television Host] That's amazing to me.
- That's what this moment has done
to the beautiful team spirit
of the New Orleans Saints.
- This is a great,
he's a great Christian man.
(Philip laughing)
- You know, Drew Brees,
good Christian man.
He has worth,
this is more than politics.
LeBron James, shut up and dribble.
We didn't vote for you.
And as far as my opinion here,
once again, just my opinion,
when it comes to Laura Ingraham,
Once again, I believe that she is a fearmongering bigot.
For some reason, in this country,
you have a lot of people saying,
"Well, I'm not racist.
Look, I didn't say the N word."
That's not the bar.
There are different forms of racism.
I feel like this is an example of that.
And if there is a final note that I can hit off,
if it's not already happening now,
I believe some people will make a false comparison
of what Laura Ingraham said and what Malcolm Jenkins said.
Jenkins in his video,
where he was unloading his heart to Drew Brees
about his personal experiences,
his community's personal experiences.
He also says,
"Shut the fuck up."
But I do believe that there is a difference there,
because with Jenkins,
there is an open door,
with Ingraham there's a closed door.
With Ingraham telling LeBron and K. D.
to "Shut up and dribble.
It's all you are.
Your words don't matter."
Whereas with Jenkins,
"It's shut up and listen."
In that moment, you're talking,
but you're not hearing.
And even to that point,
It feels solidified with Drew Brees' statement
where he says,
"It's not about talking,
it's about listening."
And to that point,
I believe that over the years
I have grown the most when I shut the hell up and I listen,
especially to the words of someone
with a drastically different life experience than me,
or a voice that is different
than what I normally hear from kind of the mainstream.
But, that's my take on it as it is now.
And of course with this whole story,
whether it be the Ingraham part or just the Drew Brees part,
anything I'd love to know your thoughts
in those comments down below.
And as always thank you for watching,
liking this video,
maybe sharing it,
being a part of that conversation
and those comments down below.
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Also, remember this video is just one part
of today's two part Philip DeFranco Show.
If you want to watch the next part,
you can click there.
I mean, there or in the description down below.
But with that said,
of course as always my name's Philip DeFranco.
You just been filled in,
I love your faces and I'll see you next time.