NFL quarterback distances himself from Christian organization after social media backlash
Article By Monica Matthews // EEW Magazine // Faith
NFL quarterback Drew Brees is distancing himself from a conservative Christian organization after appearing in their video to promote “Bring Your Bible to School Day,” which will be observed nationally October 3, 2019.
The initiative, led by Focus on the Family—a nonprofit that does not support the gay and transgender community—sparked major social media backlash.
The 40-year-old sports figure is featured in a promo video on the “Bring Your Bible” YouTube channel saying, "One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:7: 'For we live by faith, not by sight.’”
Brees also told viewers, “I want to encourage you to live out your faith on ‘Bring Your Bible to School Day’ and share God's love with friends. You're not alone."
On October 3, 2019 Christian students nationwide will be bringing their Bibles to school to exercise their religious freedom (Credit: Getty)
The vision of the annual “Bring Your Bible to School Day” is for students nationwide to celebrate religious freedom and share God’s love with their friends. Organizers are anticipating participation from half-a-million students and are praying that the day’s impact will be far-reaching. The goal is to empower students to “express their belief in the truth of God’s Word and to do so in a respectful way that demonstrates the love of Christ.”
The campaign in no way targets or singles out any groups—gay or straight.
Still, upset liberal fans and pro-LGBTQ groups accused Brees of promoting bigotry, hatred and supporting anti-gay causes—an assumption he corrected Thursday.
“I do not support any groups that discriminate or that have their own agendas trying to promote inequality," he said in a Twitter video and later told reporters he "was not aware" of the organization’s anti-LGBTQ views.
"Unfortunately there are Christian organizations out there that are involved in that kind of thing, and to me that is totally against what being a Christian is all about," Brees said during an ESPN locker room interview. "Being a Christian is love. It's forgiveness. It's respecting all, it's accepting all.”
Jim Daly, Focus on the Family President, spoke to the Washington Examiner and said, "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."
See the promo below that started the uproar.
