Adrian Peterson is the latest athlete to react to Drew Brees' comments about protesting during the national anthem. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Adrian Peterson: Drew Brees 'should have thought more' about protest comments

As the sports world continues to react to controversial comments made by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees regarding players potentially kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner" following the killing of George Floyd, one fellow future Hall of Famer weighed in on the issue on Friday. 

Washington running back Adrian Peterson spoke with Fox 26 Houston's Mark Berman, and the veteran ball-carrier both defended Brees and wished the signal-caller would've thought more about the topic before discussing it in an interview this week:

Peterson said: 

"I feel like I know Drew Brees. He’s not a racist at all and I have a lot of love for him. But I think It was a situation where he should have thought it out more. He should've thought things out more and tried to look at things in a different view. 

"I know he made a comment about what he thinks about his grandfather, his great-grandfather going to war. We had grandparents, great-grandparents who went to war as well, but when they came back they still weren't able to vote. We still didn't have the same rights.  When you look at it from that point of view, it's like we understand where you're coming from, but we don't understand where you're coming from, as well, for those reasons. We still didn't have equality in the United States once they came back. 

"Our people fought as well and played a big role in the victory. I love Drew. I have nothing but respect for him. But I think he should've thought about that a little longer."

Peterson and Brees were briefly New Orleans teammates during the 2017 season until the Saints traded Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals after he made only four appearances with the club. 

Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Charles Barkley defended Brees while speaking on TNT Thursday evening. 

"I never heard a bad word about Drew Brees in my life," Barkley said. "He made a mistake. But we’ve gotten to the point in society where everybody on social media thinks they are God, judge and jury. Drew Brees made a mistake."

Brees has apologized for his comments multiple times. 

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