New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew
Bees has defended his decision to appear in a public service
announcement for Focus on the Family.
Focus on the Family, founded in 1977 in
California by James Dobson, has a long record of opposing LGBT
rights, including same-sex marriage. While Dobson's successor, Jim
Daly, has toned down the group's anti-LGBT rhetoric, the evangelical
Christian group remains opposed to LGBT rights.
(Related: James
Dobson: Children “saddest victims” of gay marriage ruling.)
Brees appeared in a 20-second PSA that
encourages children to bring their Bibles to school on Thursday,
October 3.
“I want to encourage you to live out
your faith on Bring Your Bible to School Day and share God's love
with friends,” he said in the video. “You're not alone.”
Speaking with reporters on Thursday,
Brees defended his decision to appear in the PSA.
“It was not promoting any group,
certainly not promoting any group that is associated with that type
of behavior,” Brees
said. “I know that there are, unfortunately, Christian
organizations out there that are involved in that kind of thing, and
to me that is totally against what being Christian is all about.
Being Christian is love. It’s forgiveness, it’s respecting all,
it’s accepting all.”
In 2010, Brees recorded an
anti-bullying PSA for teens that aired on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime
talk show.