Drew Brees and a Cautionary Tale | Eastern NC Now

Kyle Smith of National Review Online assesses a star NFL quarterback’s recent controversy.

ENCNow
Publisher's note: The author of this post is Mitch Kokai for the John Locke Foundation.

    Kyle Smith of National Review Online assesses a star NFL quarterback's recent controversy.

  • After the actual riots, the metaphorical ones. Reputations get burned down. Careers get their windows smashed in. Character gets assassinated.
  • Much of this has been nearly as senseless, emotion-driven, and inane as the actual burning, looting, and destroying of urban neighborhoods. Attacking Drew Brees for expressing widely held patriotic beliefs was about as rational as setting fire to a gas station. Brees should have realized this, taken a deep breath, and reacted in the following way: by doing nothing. Brees should have let his original statement stand. "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America," was what he said, adding that thinking about the flag and the national anthem "brings me to tears thinking about all that's been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the '60s and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point." Brees said paying respect to the flag "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."
  • Stirring words, and nothing inflammatory about them. Tony Dungy chimed in, "Drew Brees can't be afraid to say that and we can't be afraid to say 'Okay, I don't agree with you but let's talk about this.' We can't just say anytime something happens we don't agree with, 'Hey I'm done with that and this person.' That doesn't make sense."
  • Brees made his situation worse by apologizing for these remarks, which only turned up the outrage. The quarterback's ritual groveling simply made his detractors more powerful. They demanded further groveling, and he complied. Now he has stamped himself forever as an antagonist to both sides of the culture war.

Go Back

HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

If you are covering Roy Cooper in Greensboro today, please consider the following statement from the Republican National Committee:

HbAD1

Obama and Biden judges abuse power for political reasons to try to stop Haitian deportations
teachers union rally held on major socialist / communist May Day holiday
Democrats foment climate of violence against Trump and GOP
Cheryl Hines. Dennis Quaid. Nicki Minaj. All became associated with the Trump administration. What happened next?
A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two charges related to making threats against President Donald Trump.
Their goal was simple: to put a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox in America.
Treasury officials allege these groups pose as humanitarian entities while covertly siphoning donations to Hamas.

HbAD2

President Donald Trump has publicly floated regime change and other aggressive actions toward Cuba.
With a new roadside plaque unveiled in Ellerbe on April 23, legendary wrestler and local resident André René Roussimoff is finally getting the formal recognition fans believe he deserves.
Following a string of attacks, critics are calling for denaturalizations. It's not that simple.
Understanding how parties work is important for making informed decisions regarding elected officials.
The solution is not to legalize the problem; it is to enforce the law consistently and deter future illegal immigration.
The teachers union is pushing to cancel school on May 1 as Chicago public schools continue to report dismal student proficiency rates.

HbAD3

 
 
Back to Top