Report: Shaq urged Saints to stay unified after controversial Brees comments
NEW ORLEANS - Shaquille O'Neal was among the voices calling for unity in the Saints locker room after Drew Brees' polarizing comments about the national anthem last week.
ESPN reports the LSU basketball legend took part in a virtual meeting with the team Thursday, just a day after Brees said in an interview that he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag" in response to a question about players kneeling during the anthem. The network cited sources describing Shaq's message to the team.
"They're going to try to divide you, just like they divided us with the Lakers! Me and Kobe, we had a great thing going, but the media divided our team," O'Neal reportedly told players. "We could have won five more championships! Stay strong. Don't let the media divide you! Don't let social media divide you!"
O'Neal was scheduled to attend the meeting as a guest speaker before the controversy reared its head on Wednesday. The NBA hall-of-famer had declined to detail exactly what he said to the team but told TNT that Brees' teammates accepted the apology.
"They said, 'Drew, we know your character. We know you stepped in some stuff that you can't get out of, but guess what: We want you to do more positive things and less talking.' And they all said we accept your apology," O'Neal said.
Brees has apologized for the comments twice publicly, saying "he missed the mark" with his initial response. He doubled down on his apology Friday after President Trump tweeted that Brees "should not have taken back his original stance."
View this post on Instagram