‘We need more Aaron Rodgers and less Drew Brees’ – MEH

Portland Trail Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum was the latest professional athlete to rip New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for national anthem comments the quarterback made on Wednesday in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

But it came with a twist: Praise for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“We need more @AaronRodgers12 and less @drewbrees,” the 28-year-old McCollum tweeted. “Ignorance is not an excuse. You have to hand off the ball and throw to those same teammates you refuse to stand up for.”

The 41-year-old Brees received backlash from teammates Malcolm Jenkins and Michael Thomas, as well as LeBron James, when he said in a Yahoo Finance interview that it’s important to show respect to the flag.

McCollum’s praise for Rodgers likely came from an Instagram post from the 36-year-old quarterback on Wednesday which read: “A few years ago we were criticized for locking arms in solidarity before the game. It has NEVER been about the anthem or a flag. Not then. Not now. Listen with an open heart, let’s educate ourselves, and then turn word and thought into action.”

As for Brees, he said the anthem brings out a lot of emotions for him.

“In many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed,” Brees said in the Yahoo Finance interview. “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.

“And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it 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.”

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes after Floyd was suspected of spending a counterfeit $20 bill.

The charges against Chauvin were upgraded on Wednesday. He now faces the more serious charge of second-degree murder, in addition to the original charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.

The other officers on the scene Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, are now being charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.