After USA President Donald Trump stated that Drew Brees should not have backtracked on his original comments of honouring the American flag, the National Football League (NFL) quarterback has now come up and responded to the same by saying that the NFL protests were never about the national flag.


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New Orleans Saints star Brees had received a flurry of criticism after he reiterated that he will never agree with anyone disrespecting the flag of United States of America in protest of police brutality.


However, Brees later apologised for his comments by stating that his remarks were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues that America is facing at the moment, CNN reported.


Reacting to the sane, President Donald Trump had taken to his official Twitter handle earlier on Saturday and told Brees that though he is a big fan of NFL player, the quarterback should not have taken back from his original statement.


"I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high," Trump had tweeted.



Earlier, Brees' original stance came when he was asked how the NFL will response if the season restarts and players resume kneeling during the national anthem as former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick used to do before games in 2016 in his protest of police brutality against minorities.


Replying to the same, Brees had said that he considers it disrespectful for players to kneel during the national anthem.


“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” Brees had told Yahoo Finance  in the interview. 


Brees said he envisions his grandfathers and other military men and women who risked their lives for th country whenever he looks at the flag and stand with his hand over his heart during the anthem.


"I love and respect my teammates, and I stand right there with them in regards to fighting for racial equality and justice. I also stand with my grandfathers who risked their lives for this country and countless other military men and women who do it on a daily basis," he added.


Brees' comments came after the US confronted a wave of protests following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis who was pinned by his neck by a white police officer for almost nine minutes to the street during an arrest caught on a video. The officer was arrested and charged with third-degree murder.