AUSTIN, Texas — Austin native and Westlake High School and Saints quarterback Drew Brees along with his wife joined Ellen Degeneres on The Ellen Degeneres Show to talk about what they're doing for their second home: New Orleans.
For several shows now, Degeneres has been hosting from her home, virtually meeting guests via video chat, in order to follow guidelines set out amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During her segment with Drew and Brittany Brees, Degeneres mentioned that her hometown of New Orleans is "facing a lot of challenges these days" due to the spread of COVID-19. The couple said they've donated $5 million to Second Harvest Food Bank, an organization that supports all five food banks throughout the state of Louisiana. He previously said that this will deliver 10,000 meals per day throughout Louisiana.
"As you know, so much of the lifeblood of Louisiana is small business. It's the hospitality industry," Drew Brees said. "And so many those people have been laid off, don't have a source of income right now. And we felt like just from talking to many people, that the biggest need was where meals were being able to feed kids on meal programs, feeding seniors, getting their meals, feeding frontline health care workers, childcare facilities, where a lot of these health care workers are needing to drop their kids off so that they can go and help people that have the virus."
Drew and Brittany Brees have a message for everyone suffering across the country.
"... We're going to get through this. But we need to get through it together. Right. We all need to lean on one another. It's a bit of a, you know, love your neighbor, take care of your neighbor, look out for your neighbor," Drew Brees said. "You know, everybody has a part in these relief efforts in this recovery. The responsibility to do the right thing in regards to, you know, protecting your family and keeping them out of harm's way. And at the same time, that keeps others out of harm's way as well."
Sean Payton, the Saints' head coach, was diagnosed with the coronavirus, and Drew Brees said that, since finishing his 14-day quarantine, Payton was in good spirits.
"And he certainly seemed like his normal self," Drew Brees said. "You know, he was talking football. He was talking free agency. He was talking about the draft already beginning to strategize for next season."
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