Former Ravens Safety Ed Reed Responds To Drew Brees’ Comments: ‘I See Drew Brees Is Doing His Part In Trying To Keep Black Folks Down’

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Former Baltimore Ravens safety and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed took to Twitter Wednesday night to respond to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees saying he still opposes players kneeling during the national anthem. The Ravens safety recorded a video discussing the comments in which he called the Saints quarterback a “sucka” because he was trying to keep himself from using profanity in his response.

“You a sucka for that”

Ed Reed doesn’t hold back on Drew Brees’ comments about kneeling during the anthem pic.twitter.com/C5crcUUcAH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2020

“I’m going to get straight to it. I see Drew Brees is doing his part in trying to keep black folk down,” said Reed. “You’re a straight sucka for that s*** Drew Brees. We all got kids, so I’m going to try to mind what I say right now. Drew Brees, you’re a straight sucka man, a straight sucka for that bro.”

“Why do you think all of these young people are out here protesting,” asked Reed. “Why you think they’re out here protesting. The looting? I can see you speaking on the looting and saying that’s bad and you don’t support that. But why you think all these young people out here protesting.”

Reed continued on to say that he doesn’t really have any other words for Brees other than that. He then said that for any Saints fans who still like Brees “just because they want to win games, y’all right with him.”

The reaction from Reed was one of many from both current and former players in response to Brees’ comments. The reaction stemmed from his response to a question about what he thinks about NFL players kneeling again once the season starts. Brees said that he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”

Several players pointed out in response to Brees’ comments that it was former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawks long snapper Nate Boyer who discussed the protest with Kaepernick and suggested that he take a knee as a sign of respect and peaceful protest.

@drewbrees you must not know that @NateBoyer37 a veteran just like your grandfather advised @Kaepernick7 to kneel as a sign of respect and peaceful protest. https://t.co/wRCmcygA3T

— Arik Armstead (@arikarmstead) June 3, 2020

Brees did apologize Thursday morning.

“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,” he posted.

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