October 3. Drew Brees. Drew appears in the top five of many all-time greatest pro quarterback lists. He led the NFL in passing yards seven times and has 541 career-touchdown passes.
He once threw a sixty-two-yard touchdown pass to a rookie receiver.
Drew has made the Pro Bowl thirteen times, and in 2004, he was the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. In 2008 and 2011, Drew was named the Offensive Player of the Year, and he was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIV. On this date in 2019, Drew spoke up on behalf of children and National Bring Your Bible to School Day. Listen to what happened.
Don’t let a dirty tackle knock you out of the game. Get back up.
All-pro quarterback Drew Brees recorded a 22-second-long video in which he quoted his favorite Bible verse. And Drew encouraged Christian kids to take their Bibles to school on Bring Your Bible to School Day. He urged kids to share the love of God with friends. He told them, “You’re not alone.” 1
He might as well have painted a target on his face. Bring Your Bible to School Day is a positive event in America, and in 2018, 650,000 kids participated. Turns out it was also promoted by Focus on the Family.
Misleading headlines abounded, such as: “Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints Quarterback Records Video Produced by Anti-Gay Group Focus on the Family,” “Drew Brees is the Biggest Hypocrite in Sports,” and “Drew Brees Needs to Apologize.” The faux news incited a nation-wide Twitter mob.
Another headline claimed Drew had disavowed his ties to Focus on the Family, which he never said he did. It was a fake-news free-for-all.
The negative headlines seemed orchestrated to enflame division and group hate. Drew’s “guilt by association” was displayed as an ugly example of a sports hero corrupted by “conservative homophobes” lost to the evils of their own bigotry.
Drew’s actual message of “share God’s love with friends. You’re not alone” seemed to have evaporated.
The fact is, Drew recognizes and respects everyone’s right to choose their own path in life. He recognizes the freedoms we celebrate in America, and he doesn’t demonize or “hate” anybody.
Drew pushed back against accusations and said he lives by two rules: To love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, and mind, and to love his neighbor as himself (Matthew 22:37, 39). But some people still demanded an official apology for his association with a conservative “anti-gay” group.
Focus on the Family spokesperson Jim Daly said that the problem was that in the current culture, if you respect someone, but you disagree with them, they label you as hating them. But disagreeing is not hating. They’re not even the same kind of thing.
Jim said they don’t hate anyone. “Our goal is to say, ‘Jesus loves you, cares about you, no matter who you are—your race, your creed, your sexual orientation. Jesus died for every one of us.’ That’s the message we want to get out.”3
He noted that he understands the LGBTQ’s stand, and he respects their right to hold that stand. He wishes they would respect people’s rights to hold a different stand too.
NFL tight end Benjamin Watson said the media’s reaction was “misleading and a mischaracterization of Focus on the Family and of Drew.” He said, “They were slanderous. And so, my response was … stop lying with those sorts of labels.”
Former quarterback Donovan McNabb explained Drew was actually “sending a good message” 2 that deserved to be heard. And Chris Valletta, a former offensive lineman said: “I think Drew Brees is the model American athlete. … He represents the best. … He’s the type of athlete, especially in today’s professional game, that our kids need to be modeling themselves after. … ”
“They pushed me hard to make me fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:13–14 CSB).
What will you do the next time you get blindsided? When your opponent hits you with a dirty tackle, don’t let it knock you out of the game.
1 Busbee, Jay. “Drew Brees appears in ad for evangelical lobbying group.” Yahoo!sports. September 5, 2019. https://sports.yahoo.com/drew-brees-appears-in-ad-for-evangelical-lobbying-group-151951797.html
2 Millward, Craig. “Former NFL Stars Defend Saints QB Drew Brees: ‘Model American Athlete;’ ‘Sending a Good Message.’” CNS News. September 9, 2019. https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-millward/former-nfl-stars-defend-saints-qb-drew-brees-model-american-athlete-sending-good.
3 Gaydos, Ryan. “Drew Brees’ former teammate comes to his defense over backlash from Bible video.” Fox News. Published September 9, 2019. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/drew-brees-saints-nfl-ben-watson-bible-video.
Story read by: Nathan Walker
Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter
Audio production: Joel Carpenter
Story written by: Toni M Babcock, https://www.facebook.com/toni.babcock.1
Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/
Project manager: Blake Mattocks
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