Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher took to Instagram Thursday to compare the NBA boycotting playoff games on Wednesday to a performance by a former Green Bay Packers quarterback.
“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’s post read. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”
On Wednesday, players from six NBA teams refused to play postseason games in an act of protest amid the shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday of Jacob Blake, a Black man, apparently in the back while three of his children looked on.
Urlacher was also found to have liked an Instagram post calling to “free Kyle Rittenhouse,” the 17-year-old from Antioch, IL suspected in the shooting deaths of two people during protests in Kenosha on Tuesday.
As the NBA and several other teams, leagues and athletes came to a halt in acts of solidarity, so too did Urlacher’s former team on Thursday.
Chicago Bears players "decided to pause our football activities," the players said in a statement tweeted by the team.
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The statement was released after Thursday morning practice did not take place as scheduled.
"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," Bears players 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."
The Bears' practice was scheduled to begin at 9:20 a.m. At around 9:15, representatives for the team asked members of the media to leave Halas Hall in north suburban Lake Forest, telling reporters there was a "schedule change" and that the team would provide more details when they were available.
Several other teams canceled practices Thursday as well, including the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Jets, the Washington Football Team, the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers, according to ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the first to opt not to take the floor in Wednesday's playoff game with the Orlando Magic, which led the league to postpone all three of the evening's games. The Bucks' statement, read by players Wednesday night, called in part for the Wisconsin legislature to pass a package of police reforms and urged citizens to vote in November.
