Former Chicago Bears player Brian Urlacher is facing backlash after reposting a meme criticizing the NBA boycott, following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“Brett Favre played the [Monday Night Football] game the day his dad died, threw four TDs in the first half and was a legend for playing in the face of adversity,” the meme read. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”
Urlacher was also caught “liking” a post about the alleged Kenosha protester shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse. The meme was a photo of Rittenhouse holding his gun with the words “FREE KYLE RITTENHOUSE!!!! PATRIOTS LIVES MATTER!!!” written across it.
Teams across several different leagues decided to boycott their games on Wednesday (Aug. 26) in response to the recent shooting of Blake. The Milwaukee Bucks were the first NBA team to announce that they would not play against the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their playoff series.
Cowboys beat reporter Clarence Hill took to Twitter to discuss his thoughts on Urlacher’s post. “Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher showing his former teammates his true colors,” he tweeted. “That locker room ain’t as anti-racist as coaches and players like to romanticize it to be.”
Writer Bill McCormick tweeted, “It was nice of Brian Urlacher to let every black teammate he ever played with know their lives aren’t worth shit. Also, FYI, the knife was found after he’d been shot. The cops who shot him didn’t know about, or see, it. Also, cops are supposed to arrest, not kill, people.”
Twitter user @marvinvenis tweeted, “Brian Urlacher supported Kyle Rittenhouse, admonished the NBA players boycotting games, justified what happened to Jacob Blake by noting his warrants, all while glorifying a Green Bay Packer. Chicago doesn’t want your ass, you racist phony bald bitch.”
Check out the meme Urlacher “liked” below.