Drew Brees has received plenty of backlash for his recent comments about kneeling during the national anthem, but former NFL head coach and analyst Tony Dungy isn’t being quite as harsh with his words in regards to the New Orleans Saints quarterback. Instead, Dungy believes this is a moment to learn from.

Thursday, Dungy joined the Pat McAfee Show to discuss Brees’s comments on the national anthem and American flag. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Brees said he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”

Dungy said that people shouldn’t be dismissing Brees completely, but instead using at a moment to teach and inform.

“We have to have Drew Brees saying what he said. I don’t downgrade Drew for that. That’s what he said,” Dungy said. “He may not totally understand — it may have been not exactly the way he wanted to express it. But he can’t be afraid to say that. And we can’t be afraid to say ‘OK, Drew, I don’t agree with you but let’s talk about this. Let’s sit down and talk about it. We can’t just say anytime something happens. ‘Hey, I don’t agree with that, I’m done with that and I’m done with this person.’ That doesn’t make sense. We have to be better than that. This battle is not going to be won by demonstrating and throwing bricks through windows. It’s not going to be won by the government saying ‘Hey, we’re gonna bring out these weapons and dominate the streets again.’ That is not going to fix anything.”

When addressing players kneeling during the national anthem, Brees referred to his grandfathers fighting in World War II and serving in the United State military. But Dungy explained that others may have parents or grandparents who served in the military who didn’t enjoy the same treatment as Brees’s family.

“My dad went to the military, Drew, in 1944 to enlist in World War II and couldn’t fight with the regular Air Force,” Dungy said. “He had to go to Tuskegee, Alabama and enlist with the Tuskegee Airmen, because it was segregated. Even though, yes, we’re all fighting for the same flag.

“And when my dad came back from that war and wanted to teach — take his first teaching job in Washington D.C. where that flag flies — he wasn’t allowed to ride the bus in certain places. He wasn’t allowed to teach in certain schools. So there’s some hurt there that goes beyond the flag.

“My dad was a veteran. He would not have taken these protests as disrespecting the flag. He would’ve taken it as people trying to make a change in our great country for the better.”

Below are the full clips of Dungy speaking on the Pat McAfee Show: