The McCourty brothers have no ill will toward Drew Brees.
Devin and Jason McCourty were among the slew of NFL players to sound off on Brees for speaking out against kneeling during the national anthem. The veteran defensive backs used their joint Twitter account to call the New Orleans Saints star’s remarks “a disgrace.”
The McCourtys expanded on their thoughts on the matter Thursday during the latest episode of their podcast, “Double Coverage.” Jason made it clear the issue at hand goes well beyond Brees himself.
“It’s not about Drew Brees,” Jason said, as transcribed by Boston.com’s Nicole Yang. “It’s not about Jason or Devin McCourty. It’s about realizing, ‘Alright, here’s an issue and we need to find a solution for that issue.’ You don’t have an issue with Drew Brees when he makes those statements. You have an issue with that train of thought, and that thought is what we’re trying to move away from.”
Devin added: “It’s not about forgiving or hating. I’ve never hated Drew Brees. I don’t even know Drew Brees. It was never about that. It was just how can we get people to now not look through those lenses? He’s a guy who if he doesn’t look through those lenses, he can get a lot of other people to feel the same way. So, hopefully, some good turns out from that.”
Brees issued a pair of public apologies Thursday, both in written and video formats. The veteran quarterback reportedly also apologized to his Saints teammates during a team meeting.
As for the McCourtys’ own team, Jason noted Thursday that Patriots players must have uncomfortable conversations about race and other societal issues.
