Dez Bryant's Take on Drew Brees Controversy is Realer Than Real
By Michael Luciano
Normally one of the most outspoken players in the NFL, former Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Dez Bryant finally offered up his thoughts on Drew Brees' controversial comments about society as a whole and the American flag.
Bryant, who was briefly a Saint before a career-altering Achilles injury, claims that part of him feels sorry for Brees, but it's also important that the future Hall-of-Fame QB is held as an example, as he has never truly felt the consequences of his actions like this before.
I kinda feel sorry for Drew Brees but then again I don’t because I would bet he never had to be accountable for the things he expresses or understands how it feels to have to pick and chose carefully what to say...something we know all to well.. this will pass in due time
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 5, 2020
Players like Bryant constantly have had to walk on a knife edge and pick their words very carefully. Brees, meanwhile, likely was given pseudo-impunity with what he was allowed to say, even during the early stages of his career.
Not all athletes can say whatever they want, whenever they want too, and Brees got a very public, very thorough crash course in that concept after his ill-timed comments on the flag and what he thinks is disrespectful.
Great point
— Caleb Wharton (@MazeOfTheMind) June 5, 2020
Celebrities, be it actors, athletes or politicians are put in the unenviable position of having to have an opinion on everything
Society, understandably, generally gives them the benefit of the doubt, some unfortunately mistake that for unconditional approval https://t.co/jBgh93HWbR
In Brees' second apology, he vowed to be a catalyst for change and listen to ways that he himself can become a more accepting, open-minded person. One way to start this quest off is meditating on Bryant's philosophy and understanding the true depths of the weight his original comments carried.