NFL star and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees recently appeared in a promotional video in which he encouraged American students to “live out” their faith and bring their Bibles to school, CBS News reported.
However, the athlete has since had to defend his participation in the campaign against critics who have pointed out the group behind the advertised “Bring Your Bible to School Day” is notoriously anti-LGBTQ.
Students all across the country are being encouraged to take part in the October 3 event.
Organized by the socially conservative group Focus on the Family, “Bring Your Bible to School Day” is meant to be a day for students to share their faith and has been taking place every year since 2014.
According to the event’s website , the day motivates students to “celebrate religious freedom and share God’s love with their friends.”
NFL Star Drew Brees recently appeared in a video promoting the upcoming event.
The 22-second clip saw Brees appear alone on a football field as he encourages America’s youth to join the annual movement and bring their Bibles to school.
“Hey guys,” he begins. “One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:7, ‘For we live by faith, not by sight’.”
He goes on to urge any students watching the video to take part in “Bring Your Bible to School Day.”
“I want to encourage you to live out your faith on Bring Your Bible to School Day and share God’s love with friends,” Brees said. “You’re not alone.”
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The group behind the event, Focus on the Family, has long lobbied against marriage equality and homosexuality.
On their website , the organization insists that homosexuality and homosexual behavior is a sin.
The group has also invested in conferences advocating for conversion therapy , as well opposing the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and fighting anti-discrimination bills.
Since the video was released at the end of August, Brees’ involvement has been met with significant criticism.
People have bashed the football star for promoting an event that was created by a historically evangelistic organization that promotes traditional marriage and gay conversion therapy, among other controversial practices.
“Not a good look for @drewbrees,” one Twitter user wrote while another added, “For all those ‘it was just about the Bible’ folks: if you do something for an organization, you are casting your lot with that organization and all it does.”
Brees has since taken to his social media to defend his participation in the controversial, promotional video.
In a video posted to his Instagram, the football star insists that the “only thing I was promoting was Bring Your Bible to School Day.”
“There’s been a lot of negativity spread about me in the LGBTQ community recently,” he began. “I’d like to set the record straight.”
He goes on to say that he lives by two “very simple Christian fundamentals: love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Brees finishes the video by explicitly stating, “I do not support any groups that discriminate or that have their own agendas that are trying to promote negativity.”
A well-known passionate Christian and anti-bullying advocate, he implored people to “let my actions speak louder than any of my words.”
h/t: CBS News