Sports

Brian Urlacher Slammed for Criticizing NBA Players Over Boycotts

NBA players came together to boycott Wednesday's playoff games following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, but Brian Urlacher wasn't impressed.

urlacher
Image via Getty/Leon Halip
Getty

NBA players came together to boycott Wednesday's playoff games following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, but former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher isn't impressed. Criticizing the players for standing up for police brutality, he compared their protest with the time former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre played the day his dad passed away.

"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," he wrote on his Instagram Story. "NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police."

The comments come not long after Urlacher allegedly liked a post on Instagram in support of 17-year-old shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two protesters and seriously injured another. Rittenhouse has since been arrested in his hometown of Antioch, Illinois and charged with first-degree murder. In videos that circulated on social media, he could be seen opening fire on the protesters.

The Bears released a statement distancing themselves from comments, writing, "The social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization."

Check out other reactions to Urlacher's controversial comments below.

Wisconsin State Attorney General Josh Kaul told reporters this week that Blake admitted he had a knife on him as officers arrived at the scene, and the authorities later found a knife on the Floorboard of his vehicle. "In the vehicle he did not have a weapon," added attorney Patrick Salvi Jr. on Wednesday. "I can't speak directly to what he owned, but what I can say is his three children were in the car and that was in the front of his mind. That is the most important thing to him in his life: his family and his children."

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