Teammate to Drew Brees: 'I Can't Let This Slide'

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday that he would not support protesting players kneeling during the national anthem this season. "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America,” Brees said in response to a question about Colin Kaepernick's 2016 protest of police brutality and racial injustice. Brees' teammate, Malcolm Jenkins, was having none of it. "If you don't understand how hurtful, how insensitive your comments are, you're part of the problem," he responded in a highly emotional video, per USA Today. "The same guys that you go into battle with every single day go home to communities that have been decimated," he added. "Unfortunately, you're someone who doesn't understand their privilege. ... Even though we're teammates, I can't let this slide."

In the caption, Jenkins wrote that he'd spoken to Brees after filming the video but decided to post it to show "how these words and actions affect those who you want to help." Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said he'd also spoken to Brees in an attempt to get him to see his perspective. "He's creating the emotional illusion that everyone who takes a knee is disrespecting the flag," he told NFL.com, which reports recently signed Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders tweeted, "Smh.. Ignorant." A chant of "F— Drew Brees" erupted at a protest in New Orleans on Wednesday, though the quarterback had attempted to clarify his message. "I stand right there with [my teammates] in regard to fighting for racial equality and justice," Brees told ESPN. But "we should all stand for the national anthem" in respect to "all those who sacrificed so much for our freedoms." (More Drew Brees stories.)