“We need more Aaron Rodgers and less Drew Brees”

Portland Trail Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum was the last professional athlete to rip New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees over comments on the national anthem the quarterback made Wednesday after 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” McCollum, 28, tweeted. “Ignorance is not an excuse. You have to hand over the ball and shoot those same teammates that you refuse to defend.”

Brees, 41, received a backlash from his teammates Malcolm Jenkins and Michael Thomas, as well as LeBron James, when he said in a Yahoo Finance interview that it is important to show respect for the flag.

McCollum’s praise for Rodgers probably came from a 36-year-old quarterback instagram post on Wednesday it said, “A few years ago we were criticized for blocking weapons in solidarity before the game. It has NEVER been about the anthem or a flag. Not then. Not now. Listen with an open heart, educate ourselves and then convert the word and thinking in action. “

As for Brees, he said that the hymn provokes many emotions in him.

“In many cases, that makes me cry, think about everything that has been sacrificed,” Brees said in the Yahoo Finance interview. “Not only those in the military, but also those in the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and everything that has endured so many people so far.

“And everything is fine with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart is that it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, that we can all do better, and that we are all part of the solution. “

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

The charges against Chauvin were updated on Wednesday. He now faces the most serious second-degree murder charge, in addition to the original charges of third-degree murder and second-degree murder with guilty 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 murders and aiding and abetting homicides in second grade.