AsylumGuido

Malcolm Jenkins thinks Saints are 'closer' after Brees' comments

Safety says conversations following QB's controversial statements brought team together

The New Orleans Saints said they’ve worked to get past the controversial comments made by quarterback Drew Brees this offseason regarding protests during the national anthem.

On Thursday, Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins said he thinks that controversy actually helped bring the team together.

“I think, if anything, the team was probably closer for it, because we've had to have tough conversations and oftentimes, those adversities or those intimate kind of engagements, bring people closer, and I think this is no exception,” Jenkins said.

Brees was asked about players protesting during the national anthem in a June interview, and said he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.”

That comment drew strong reactions from fans as well as Brees’ teammates, including Jenkins, who said the comments ignored and distracted from the purpose of the protests.

Brees has since apologized for the comments multiple times and vowed to fight for social justice.

Jenkins said he and Brees have personally spoken about the issue and that he considers the quarterback a longtime friend.

“I feel like me and Drew were friends long before 2020. And obviously, the dialogue that he and I had to have publicly, but also privately, I think was important for the country to do and important for us to do,” Jenkins said. “And I think that even moving past that moment, it's going to be ongoing, but as far as a friendship and the willingness for both of us to engage in that dialogue has been cooperative and been encouraging.”

Jenkins has been one of the NFL’s more vocal players with regards to fighting for social justice throughout his career, and the former Philadelphia Eagle said he’s excited that more players and U.S. citizens are calling for changes.

“I think where we are right now as a country, as a league and peers and players, I'm definitely proud of kind of being a part of that initial groundwork,” he said. “But I'm also energized because of how many other people have obviously joined kind of this movement and fight for social justice and demanding that things change significantly and rapidly.

“Myself and a lot of other people sacrificed a lot to kind of lay that groundwork and it really stood on the shoulders that came before us. And I think we're at a moment right now where we can significantly push that agenda forward.”

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

jnormand

Malcolm Jenkins is a douche.

AsylumGuido

Have you ever met him and talked with him?

halloween 65

That clown blows up something Brees says and Brees kicks out millions to save face over something taken out of context, why would anyone in their right mind want to think he's anything other than what jnormand called him.

jeanpierre

F' Malcolm Jenkins...

AsylumGuido

Do you honestly believe there wasn't some pot stirring going on by third party sources? Someone had to have brought the Brees comments to Jenkins' attention and you can bet the context in which it was presented was in hopes of that type of reaction from Jenkins. Do I think Jenkins went overboard? Yes. But I also believe there was instigation. It's the way "news" media works these days. They create stories. You cannot deny that. I try to avoid passing judgments on people based solely on what I am presented through that media.

Everything I have heard or read about Jenkins prior to this episode has shown a person of high character. But, once again, I have never met him myself so I withhold final judgment on that, as well.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

Rugby Saint II

That is an interesting theory...but still it's just a theory. The fact is that POS called Drew out in public rather than trying to find a resolution privately. I seriously doubt that Drew feels like they are friends no matter what he says in public. Drew is an honorable man while Jenkins is not.

AsylumGuido

Once again, what do any of us know about Jenkins' honor or what Drew feels about him. Both have said they are "lifetime friends" recently. We've discussed this before, how you, or anyone else, feels does not matter. If Drew and Jenkins have moved on then that is all that matters and both have said they have repeatedly. The fact is that they HAVE found a resolution privately, but you remain unsatisfied that their private resolution was not done publicly. Where's the logic in that, Rugs?

And it is more than just a theory on how Jenkins got word of what Brees said. It is today's media's modus operandi. It is how they operate. It happens time and time again. The interview that Brees did was so obscure and directed to a very narrow audience that Jenkins would have never come across it without someone else bringing it to his attention. Someone involved with the interview had to have seen the potential for controversy if they presented it in the right manner. They did just that and took it to someone they knew would react under those circumstances.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

Rugby Saint II

I get your point Guido. However, that man would never be my friend. I've had disputes with team mates that got ugly. One in particular comes to mind. We never got along but I did not allow it to split my team even though he was an instigator who seriously tried to divide the team I backed him up on the field and was polite in public. But that was it. We'll never be friends.

And I'll never like Jenkins. I didn't like him here the first time around and I like him even less the second time around. Jenkins had damn well better ball out in a major way or I'll spit every time his name is mentioned.

Basically, I never really respected him and I lost any respect that I did have built up for him while he was with the Eagles.

ChrisXVI

We should’ve kept Vonn Bell. Read a training camp report from the Bengals the other day that said Bell was getting chastised from the coaches for hitting too hard in practice.