Urlacher’s Stance on Locker Room Unity
Brian Urlacher, the renowned former linebacker for the Chicago Bears, recently expressed his strong disapproval of Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest during the national anthem in 2016. During a guest appearance on The Craig Carton Show, the Hall of Famer highlighted the importance of cohesion within a professional football team.
«You can’t have the racial divide in the locker room,» Urlacher stated. «It’s just not going to work. If you do, your team is going to be s*.»
Reflecting on his own career, which spanned 13 seasons before his retirement in 2013, Urlacher emphasized that such protests would have been difficult for him to navigate as a player. «The thing with him taking a knee would have been really, really f*ing hard for me to put up with in that locker room. That would have been something that would have probably been a line in the sand for me when it comes to stuff like that,» he added.
Impact on Personal Viewing Habits
Urlacher revealed that the controversy surrounding the protests led him and his family to distance themselves from professional football for several seasons. Following the 2016–2017 season, Kaepernick became a free agent and has not played in the NFL since.
«I’d retired, so I was watching all this happen on TV, and we quit watching,» Urlacher recalled. «There were probably two, two and a half, three years where we didn’t watch football. I was like, as long as this s*’s taking place, I’m not watching.»
He noted that his wife shared his perspective, leading them to avoid watching NFL games entirely during that period due to the ongoing situation surrounding the league.
Kaepernick’s Perspective on a Potential Return
While the discussion centered on his past actions, Kaepernick has previously addressed questions regarding his potential return to the league. Despite not being active for several years, he has suggested that he remains open to playing if a team were to reach out, noting that he keeps himself prepared for such an opportunity.