Getty Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey released a team statement on the murder of George Floyd.
One week after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, numerous athletes have spoken out about the issues of police brutality and racial injustice. While a sprinkling of professional football teams have spoken out about the issue — at least so far — the Chicago Bears can now be counted amongst the few who have released a statement on Floyd’s death. And it’s a strong one.
A statement by Bears’ chairman George McCaskey was released via the team’s Twitter account Monday evening, and it revealed general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy spent two hours that day talking to the team, “listening … and healing together.”
If player response on Twitter is any indication, the meeting was an important one to have.
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Several Bears Players Responded Favorably to Team Meeting
In an interview in which he discussed his recent participation in protests in Baltimore, linebacker Josh Woods said the team had a “powerful” meeting, and he tweeted in support of the organization later, saying: “Said they had our backs and they meant it. It’s time for change.” Woods was one of several Bears players who took to Twitter to comment on the team meeting.
Just had an amazing conversation with my brothers from the @ChicagoBears 🙏🏽
Multiple members of the team have also spoken out about racial injustice via their social media platforms in recent days. Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Khalil Mack and Danny Trevathan are among the Bears who have been vocal on Twitter about the issue.
Akiem Hicks also weighed in, thanking Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores for his passionate response to Floyd’s murder. Flores called out those who voiced displeasure when Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest of police brutality in 2016, yet were silent when it came to the recent murders of young black men and women.
Here is the Bears’ full statement released by George McCaskey:
“A week ago another unarmed African-American man died at the hands of a white police officer. We are witnessing the anger and frustration play out in protests across the nation, including Chicago. We must do more than wring our hands and hope it doesn’t happen again. As an organization, we have addressed it internally by offering unconditional support to our family of staff, coaches and players, and today Ryan Pace and Coach Nagy spent the allotted two hours of team meeting time listening to and healing together with our players and the coaching staff. Through our voice, our actions and our resources, it is our obligation to lead. We will continue to work with our player-led social justice committee to provide funding and exposure to local organizations dedicated to empowering communities that have been oppressed for far too long. We’re proud to support organizations like BUILD Chicago, I Grow Chicago, My Block, My Hood, My City, and Youth Guidance, among others, who are doing great work in these communities and we encourage fans to partner with us in supporting them. Our commitment is to continue to be an active participant in change.”
A statement from our chairman George H. McCaskey:
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