Sacking Quarterback Drew Brees for His Christian Witness

New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees, who has made no secret of his devout Christian faith, came under fire recently for making a 33-second video for the Christian ministry Focus on the Family.

Focus posted a video to Facebook with Mr. Brees encouraging students to participate in “Bring Your Bible to School Day” on October 3. Mr. Brees quotes one of his favorite biblical passages:

“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

The caption to the Focus on the Family post says “join Drew Brees as he encourages students to ‘live your faith and share God’s love’ on #BringYourBible to School Day, Oct. 3. Click below to learn how your voice can be counted.”

Mr. Brees was immediately attacked by activists. His crime? Associating with a “hate group,” that is, Focus on the Family.  Mr. Brees, who seemed stunned by the attacks and went into a defensive mode, is still to be commended for his original intent, which was to encourage kids to demonstrate their faith by bringing Bibles to school.

Art Ally, Founder and President of the Timothy Plan, applauds Drew Brees for encouraging kids to bring their Bibles to school on “Bring Your Bible to School Day” October 3^rd. “We need more Christian role models to stand up and speak out,” says Ally.  “However when you do, you expose yourself to a barrage of vitriolic attacks by the “far-left”.  Unfortunately, at times, even some members of the Christian community will feel compelled to ‘pile-on’ when a fellow Christian comes under attack if that Christian does not fully meet their every expectation. This can and does have the effect of discouraging others to come forward. We can not and must not relinquish our inalienable rights by allowing the ‘far-leftists’ to have an exclusive soapbox.” 

Not even a Super Bowl MVP quarterback who has himself campaigned against bullying¹ in cooperation with LGBT activists is immune from the spurious charge of “hate.”

A HATE GROUP is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other designated sector of society. wikipedia.org

Focus on the Family’s guideline on human sexuality states:

“We believe that God created humans in His image, intentionally and immutably male and female, each bringing unique and complementary qualities to sexuality and relationships. Sexuality is a glorious gift from God to be offered back to Him either in marriage for procreation, union, and mutual delight or in celibacy for undivided devotion to Christ. Christians are called to proclaim the truth and beauty of God’s design and the redemption of sexual brokenness in our lives and culture through Jesus Christ.”

It’s obvious that Focus doesn’t advocate hatred, hostility or violence of any kind. Christians are to love our neighbor whether we agree with their views or not. But this does not mean we have to embrace sin. In fact, if you want what’s best for people, you try to steer them away from sin. God made rules for human behavior, including sexuality, because He loves us and wants the best for us.

Who Is Acting Like a “Hate Group”?

Liberal activists have doubled down on their campaign to silence Christians in the public square by making false accusations of “hate.”

Not only is this vicious accusation itself a form of bullying, hatred, and hostility; it’s flat-out false. Focus on the Family is a gentle Christian ministry that was founded by psychologist Dr. James Dobson as an informational outreach to families. Calling it a “hate group” is like calling Mother Teresa a terrorist.

Here’s an excerpt of Focus on the Family President Jim Daly’s response to the attack on Mr. Brees and on Focus:

“Is there no longer any realm where I can disagree with someone on the definition of marriage and human sexuality and still be considered a decent person?

“Like Scripture teaches and Drew Brees referenced, we believe we’re called to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. We’re also commanded to love our neighbors, whether they identify as heterosexual, homosexual or something else.

“Yes, we believe the teachings of the Bible, that marriage is a sacred institution intended for the union of one man and one woman. As I have told critics, I am not the Bible’s editor. I accept it as written and have neither the authority nor gall to amend the sacred text. But that belief does not give us license to demean those who don’t accept the teachings of the Old and New Testaments.

“But American pluralism also demands that those who disagree with me shouldn’t mock or malign my deeply held religious beliefs. Shaming me is mean-spirited and unproductive. If you expect me to accept and respect you, then I am deserving of your respect and acceptance. Tolerance is a two-way street.”

Last year, Chick-fil-A came under attack yet again because its president has defended the biblical view of marriage as only the union of a man and a woman. When the fast-food chicken chain recently opened a new restaurant in Toronto, dozens of activists surrounded it, chanting obscenities and holding signs accusing the firm of selling “hate.”

Falsely accusing others of hate works well to intimidate others from speaking out publicly. That’s the whole point: intimidation.

Attack on Faith

Mr. Brees, who issued statements following the attacks that seemed to walk back his association with Focus, is still to be commended for his original intent, which was to encourage kids to demonstrate their faith by bringing Bibles to school.

Fans and fellow NFL players, like Benjamin Watson of the New England Patriots, are speaking out in support of Focus on the Family, Bring Your Bible to School, and religious freedom.

All over the nation, Christians are coming under attack merely for trying to live out their faith.

Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Google’s YouTube and even Pinterest have all been caught censoring Christians and conservatives. Most of it is being done at the behest of LGBTQ activists.

In California, where a proposed law would have banned any materials advocating counseling toward natural sexual identity (up to and including the Bible), the k-12 curriculum promotes every form of sexual activity under the sun while preventing parents from opting out their children. The proposed Equality Act in Congress would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to federal civil rights law, which would effectively turn biblical morality into an actionable offense. Public libraries paid for by tax-payers, including Christians, now host Drag Queen Story Hour targeting young children. These are all attempts to ruthlessly build a social Berlin Wall to keep everyone locked into their version of what’s acceptable.

Christian legal defense groups like Liberty Counsel and Alliance Defending Freedom are already involved with hundreds of lawsuits all over the nation, defending individuals and businesses that have wrongfully been declared “hate groups.”

This is all part of a larger war on Christianity.

Christmas plays and manger scenes have been banned; pastors have been told they can’t preach against homosexuality; military chaplains are being punished for citing Jesus or refusing to marry same-sex couples; high school coaches have been punished for ‘taking a knee’ and praying before a game.

Christian florists, bakers, wedding planners, printers and photographers face stiff fines for refusing to service same-sex ceremonies that violate their biblical beliefs. Even with the Masterpiece Cakeshop win last year at the U.S. Supreme Court, this is still happening.

Be Courageous and Stand Up for Your Faith

Drew Brees is merely the latest Christian to be publicly attacked for his faith. We all need to stand up and show support to those willing to stand up for their faith.

We hope you will join us by mailing Drew Brees a letter of encouragement to:

Brees Dream Foundation
c/o DREW BREES
1360 E 9TH ST STE 1100
CLEVELAND, OH 44114

Unless more Christians speak out and show how absurd the charge of “hate” really is, we can expect much more of the same.

Remember, we are not alone.

In John 16:33, Jesus said: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

1. In 2010, Mr. Brees made a video while working with Ellen DeGeneres on an anti-bullying campaign. In the 34-second video, Mr. Brees tells students that bullying people for being different is not brave, but cowardly:

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