Drew Brees Draws Fire After Controversial Video

New Orleans Saints QB pushes back after appearing in clip from anti-LGBT Christian group
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2019 11:49 AM CDT
Saints Quarterback: Don't Tie Me to Anti-LGBT Group
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees speaks during a news conference after a preseason NFL football game against the New York Jets on Aug. 24, 2019, in East Rutherford, NJ.   (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

"For we live by faith, not by sight" is one of Drew Brees' favorite biblical quotes, he tells fans in a 20-second video spot aimed at students for "Bring Your Bible to School Day" on Oct. 3. It was a short clip meant to inspire, but instead it's drawn ire from some, as the video was released by Focus on the Family, a fundamentalist Christian organization that has been criticized in the past for anti-LGBTQ views, per the Hill. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the group has donated money to campaigns to stymie same-sex marriages, promoted "conversion therapy," tried to keep gay couples from adopting, and called transgender people "mentally ill." The piece that apparently set Brees off, per USA Today: an article in Big Easy Magazine entitled "Drew Brees Records Video for Anti-LGBT Religious Organization."

Brees took to social media on Thursday to clear things up. "I’d like to set the record straight," he says in a posted video. "I live by two very simple Christian fundamentals, and that is love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. ... That means love all, respect all and accept all. So that is actually how I live my life. That is what I try to do with my family, with my teammates, with people in my community, with my friends. All people." He noted he wasn't tied to the group that put out the video and that he'd simply wanted to encourage kids for Bring Your Bible to School Day, adding, "I do not support any groups that discriminate or that have their own agendas that are trying to promote inequality." Meanwhile, Focus on the Family leader Jim Daly tells the Washington Post, "It's unfortunate that mean-spirited antagonists have attempted to draw attention away from this event by mischaracterizing the beliefs and positions of our organization." (More Drew Brees stories.)

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