Drew Brees has come under fire over the past 24 hours thanks to his stance on peaceful protests in the United States. While speaking on the current state of the country, Brees expressed support for police brutality protesters but claimed that kneeling during the anthem is still unacceptable because it is disrespectful to the flag, anthem, and even the troops. People felt as though these comments were a slap in the face of Colin Kaepernick and many of Brees' teammates were quick to call him out for being wrong about the topic.

Today on First Take, Stephen A. Smith was particularly disappointed in Brees especially as someone who has supported the Saints over the years. Smith felt as though Brees was being very ignorant and given his status in the New Orleans community, he should know better when it comes to the lived experiences of black people.

Following the death of George Floyd, there have been numerous protests throughout the streets of America. These protests have been met by resistance from local authorities who have been escalating the situation with aggressive forms of crowd control. At the end of the day, it is clear that the American people want a change and that they want the police to treat everyone like human beings, regardless of race. It’s been an issue that has plagued the country for far too long and the people are standing up about it.

Today on ESPN’s First Take, Charlamagne Tha God joined Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman for an in-depth conversation on everything that has happened over the past few days and what needs to happen, moving forward. As Smith explained, police brutality has become all too common in society, and that acts committed by cops that result in the deaths of African Americans should be considered as “hate crimes.”

Charlamagne and Max Kellerman were in full agreement with those sentiments, with Kellerman noting that America probably wishes they had listened to Colin Kaepernick sooner as it would have decreased the need for such widespread protesting.

First Take has always been known for having powerful debates about race and politics so it was refreshing to see Charlamagne in the mix as well. Regardless of how you feel about these three men, you can’t help but acknowledge how right they are about a change being needed.

Kendrick Perkins has steadily been one of the more interesting basketball analysts to listen to since he retired. Most of the time, people disagree with whatever Perkins has to say but as someone who used to play in the NBA, he certainly has some valid criticism and praise to dish out. Today on First Take, the show revealed that in a top 15 NBA player ranking, James Harden was placed sixth while Steph Curry was fifth.

Following this revelation, Perkins went off on a rant about how Harden is actually a better player than Curry. While Curry has all of the rings, Perkins noted that Harden is a better scorer, passer, and rebounder which would by default make him better than Curry. 

Ever since March 11th, we have been without NBA basketball. Of course, the league infamously shut down due to Rudy Gobert getting infected with the Coronavirus. Since then, over a million people in the United States have been infected with the virus and the NBA is still looking at ways that it can safely return to action. While it may not be coming back right away, there have been reports suggesting that we could see the return of basketball as soon as July 15th.

As far as the playoffs are concerned, there doesn't seem to be a concrete plan in place. Stephen A. Smith took to First Take this morning with an interesting idea in which he suggested the NBA go for the NCAA route. Essentially, since the league will only be playing in one or two cities, they should eliminate conferences and instead have the first seed play the 16th seed. 

Ever since Anthony Davis got to the Los Angeles Lakers, they have been a much better team. Of course, the year before, the Lakers missed out on the playoffs due to numerous injuries and some lackluster play from a brigade of young stars who just weren't meant for the bright lights of L.A. With that being said, this new Lakers team is incredibly fun to watch and LeBron James and AD are the new NBA power duo. 

While Davis is arguably the best player on the team this season, Stephen A. Smith had a hot take on where the Lakers would be if Davis was steering the ship and LeBron wasn't there. As he explains, the Lakers would simply be like the Pelicans, except with different jerseys.

Dana White has been gearing up for a huge event this Saturday that is sure to get all of us in the sports mood. The UFC is finally giving us some athletics to watch in the form of UFC 249 and the big fight is going to be Tony Ferguson against Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was originally supposed to go up against the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov but due to travel restrictions in Russia, Khabib is being forced to stay home.

This unfortunate fact of life has led to a lot of criticism and debate, especially amongst those fighting on Saturday. Now, White is speaking out about Khabib and on First Take today, he revealed who the Dagestanian would fight next. As White explains in the clip below, Khabib is ready to fight and that his next bout would most likely be against the winner of the match between Gaethje and Ferguson.

Ever since March 11th, we have been without NBA basketball or any kind of sports. It's been a long two months and sports fans are itching to get some new games to watch. Even if the league has to continue without fans, all we want is for some games and the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.

ESPN has tried to give sports fans some content in the interim, including "The Last Dance" and a H-O-R-S-E competition which wasn't very fun if we're being honest. Some think the NBA will actually be pretty sloppy when it comes back and that the quality of competition will be fairly low. However, as Stephen A. Smith noted on First Take today, he really couldn't care less.

There is truly no NFL team that Stephen A. Smith hates more than the Dallas Cowboys and when they make a decision he disagrees with, he makes sure to let the franchise know. Recently, the Cowboys shocked the football world as they signed Andy Dalton to a one-year deal where he will presumably be the backup to none other than Dak Prescott. This signing would seem pretty innocent if it weren't for the fact that Prescott in the midst of some pretty contentious contract negotiations with Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones.

Today, Smith weighed in on the decision on First Take and he completely ripped into the Cowboys, as expected. Smith believes the Cowboys are sending the wrong message to Prescott and that if they're not careful, the QB's relationship with the team could be damaged moving forward.

Isiah Thomas continues to be a major focal point in sports coverage these days thanks to his role in "The Last Dance." Michael Jordan hated Thomas and the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons who were constantly knocking him down and abusing him in the paint. During an episode of the documentary last night, the Pistons' aggression was on full display and young basketball fans were beginning to understand why Jordan lost so much in his early years. In fact, fans were quite critical of the Pistons' tactics.

Today on First Take, Thomas defended his former team and said that while he admits his team was very aggressive, you could easily say the same things about the Chicago Bulls. In fact, Thomas believes the Bulls modeled their defense after the Pistons and that's why they won so many championships.

Aaron Rodgers has been a legendary quarterback for the Green Bay Packers over the last decade and while he only has one Super Bowl, there is no denying that he is one of the best QBs in the history of the game. Unfortunately, Rodgers' struggles in the postseason aren't exactly his fault. It is mostly because he has been given horrible defenses and very few weapons on offense.

Last night, the Packers had an opportunity to draft Rodgers a QB in the first round of the NFL draft. Instead, they drafted his future replacement, Jordan Love. Packers fans were livid with the move, including Stephen A. Smith who had a lot to say about the matter on First Take. In fact, Smith thinks Rodgers should be asking for a trade, immediately.