12:57 PM PT -- LeBron James is going IN on Drew Brees over the QB's comments -- explaining why Drew is just dead wrong.
"WOW MAN!! 🤦🏾♂️. Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee??"
"Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of Flag of United States and our soldiers(men and women) who keep our land free."
LBJ continued ... "My father-in-law was one of those men who fought as well for this country. I asked him question about it and thank him all the time for his commitement."
"He never found Kap peaceful protest offensive because he and I both know what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong! God bless you."
James isn't the only high-profile sports star to weigh in -- Richard Sherman also spoke out against Brees' comments.
"He’s beyond lost. Guarantee you there were black men fighting along side your grandfather but this doesn’t seem to be about that," Sherman tweeted.
"That uncomfortable conversation you are trying to avoid by injecting military into a conversation about brutality and equality is part of the problem"
New England Patriots stars/twins Devin and Jason McCourty's joint Twitter account spoke out against Brees' stance ... saying "This is a disgrace! To speak about your grandfathers as if there weren’t black men fighting next to them."
"Those men later returned to a country that hated them. Don’t avoid the issue and try to make it about a flag or the military. Fight like your grandfathers for whats right!"
Doug Baldwin sent a public message to Brees on Twitter, saying, "the reason my children have to live in a world that won’t empathize with their pain is because people like you are raising your children to perpetuate the cycle. Drew, you are the problem."
Drew Brees still does not believe NFL players should take a knee during the national anthem -- saying it's disrespectful to the flag.
The New Orleans Saints QB appeared on Yahoo's On The Move where he was asked about Colin Kaepernick's kneeling demonstration most likely making a return when the NFL season begins.
"I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America," Brees said.
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about "players kneeling again when the NFL season starts."@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
The 41-year-old explained why the anthem is so important to him - he has 2 grandfathers who served in the military -- and says he gets emotional thinking about the sacrifices they made to serve our country.
Brees also says he thinks about "the civil rights movements of the '60s and everyone and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point."
That's when Brees acknowledges the civil unrest in the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd ... but still doubled down on his stance.
"Is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long away to go. But, I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity."
"It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better and that we are all part of the solution."
Clearly, not everyone in the NFL feels the same way.
Kaepernick has said he took a knee to put a spotlight on police brutality and racial injustice ... not to disrespect the military.