The Bears were one of several organizations throughout the world of sports that put practice and competition aside Thursday in light of more important issues.
The team's practice was canceled, a statement was released and several players voiced their support of the team's decision.
“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 statement 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."
One former Bears player who may not have been on board with that plan was Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, who in an Instagram post criticized NBA players for sitting out in protest.
On Instagram, Urlacher also liked a post from another user that read “FREE KYLE RITTENHOUSE!!!! Patriot Live Matter!!!” Rittenhouse is the 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois who's facing five felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, following the fatal shooting of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
Urlacher played from the Bears from 2000 to 2012. For the final five years of his NFL career, he was teammates with running back Matt Forte, who was one of the most outspoken critics of Urlacher's comments.
"The comment (Brian Urlacher) posted is void of empathy, compassion, wisdom and coherence," Forte wrote. "But full of pride and ignorance! I pray for those who have been blinded by their wealth, privilege and earthly fame that breeds arrogance in their hearts."
The Bears also issued a statement in response to Urlacher's comments, though they didn't directly attack him to the same extent that Forte did.
"The social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization," the team's statement reads, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Longtime NBA guard Jamal Crawford, who began his career with the Chicago Bulls the same year that Urlacher did with the Bears, was also critical of Urlacher's comment.
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