Drew Brees is a New Orleans football legend, but that's not the sport he's bringing back to the crescent city.
That sport is pickleball, the all-ages-welcome game that even a former NFL QB still has a long way to go to reach elite status.
“Even if you’ve never played a racket sport in your life," Brees said on WWL, "you can pick up a pickleball paddle and hit what is basically a whiffleball in kind of a short area and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Listen to the full conversation with Drew Brees in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The former Saints quarterback was making the rounds to promote the Brees Drew Foundation's newly announced NOLA Pickleball Fest, a four-day event that will be held at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center beginning on Aug. 10. Proceeds from the event will benefit the foundation. Sign up info and additional details can be found at drewbrees.com.
“We’ll have tons of festivities. We’ll have Mardi Gras floats," Brees said. "I mean, it’s going to be off the charts, and for everybody coming into town who's not from New Orleans, which obviously is what we love to do is be great hosts and show that hospitality … they have a chance to just see and feel what it is to be a part of a New Orleans festival centered around pickleball.”
The festival-style pickleball tournament will feature 24 PickleRoll courts, live music, a celebrity exhibition match featuring Drew Brees, VIP experiences. Brees has been heavily involved with the growing sport since his retirement from the NFL in 2020.
Related
