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Drew Brees to sponsor Black College Football HOF event after vowing to 'be a part of the solution'

Drew Brees announced on Thursday that he and his wife, Brittany, will be presenting sponsors at an upcoming Black College Football Hall of Fame event called “The Road to Equality.”

Their participation in the July 15 event comes of the heels of Brees’ vow to “be part of the solution” following uproar over his comments on NFL player protests against social justice and police brutality.

Brees criticized over protest stance

Brees drew backlash after telling Yahoo Finance on June 3 “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag” when talking about players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of peaceful protest.

The statement arrived as the United States began to grapple with the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police and protests broke out across the nation.

After implying that the peaceful protests led by Colin Kaepernick were unpatriotic, Brees was widely condemned by NFL players, his New Orleans Saints teammates among them.

Drew Brees promised to "do better" as an ally after backlash over his player-protest stance. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Drew Brees promised to "do better" as an ally after backlash over his player-protest stance. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Brees’ vow to ‘do better’

Brees responded with a pair of apologies, acknowledging that he hurt people he cared about while vowing to be an ally.

“I am sorry, and I will do better, and I will be a part of the solution,” Brees said on June 4. “And I am your ally. And I know no words will do that justice.”

The Brees family is listed as a sponsor of the event alongside the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, the Robert Kraft Foundation, Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Auburn head football coach Gus Malzahn.

According to the event’s website, it “will feature poignant stories of struggle and triumph directly from some of the greatest football players from Historically Black Colleges & Universities.”

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