The Chicago Bears, who canceled practice yesterday in the wake of the shooting of Black man Jacob Blake by a white police officer, have distanced themselves from franchise legend Brian Urlacher after the Hall of Fame linebacker made some senseless comments about the shooting in a social media post.
Somehow, Urlacher nonsensically compared the NBA boycotting games in protest of racial inequality and the Wisconsin shooting to Brett Favre playing a game on Monday Night Football after his father’s death.
“Brett Favre played the MNF game the day his dad died, threw 4 TDs in the first half, and was a legend for playing in the face of adversity,” Urlacher wrote. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”
Understandably, the Bears made it clear that Urlacher — who also clicked the “like” button on an Instagram post declaring “Free Kyle Rittenhouse,” the 17-year-old white shooter who has been charged with killing two people in the aftermath of Blake’s murder — does not speak for them.
“The social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization,” the team said in a statement on Thursday night.
Urlacher, 42, played for the Bears from 2000-12 and made eight Pro Bowls.
Earlier in the day, the team issued a statement about why they chose not to hold practice.
“In the wake of what has taken place in our backyard of Kenosha over the last couple of days, we as a team have a lot on our mind today,” the Bears said. “We decided to pause our football activities to voice to each other, our coaches and our staff where we stand on the real issues around race and police brutality in our country. We had a productive discussion, but we all agreed that talks and discussions are simply not enough anymore and we need action. We are putting in plans to take action in our communities and together we believe we can make a real difference. We need action not only today, but in the days to come.”
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