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The Chicago Bears have parted ways with director of college scouting Mark Sadowski, national scout Chris Prescott and scouting coordinator Bobby Macedo, according to a May 3 report by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
In addition to significant changes in the scouting department, general manager Ryan Poles announced he had named Jeff King and Trey Koziol as the team’s new co-directors of player personnel.
Prescott in particular has garnered national attention in recent days after his comments about Bears’ second-round draft pick Jaquan Brisker.
“He’s a – what would we call it? – Ph.D? Poor, hungry and desperate,” Prescott said about Brisker, who is Black, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “Football is his life. This is this kid’s life. There’s a lot to like about that when you see a guy who’s so passionate about football.”
Bears National scout Chris Prescott on Jaquan Brisker: “He’s a – what would we call it? – Ph.D? Poor, hungry and desperate. Football is his life. This is this kid’s life. There’s a lot to like about that when you see a guy who’s so passionate about football.”
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Prescott’s ‘Alarming’ Take on Brisker Draws Criticism
Mike Freeman of USA Today called Prescott’s comments “alarming.”
“If Prescott talks about players like this publicly, imagine what he says when out of view,” Freeman wrote on May 2. “Anyone who speaks and thinks this way shouldn’t be part of a 21st century NFL franchise. Expressing a sort of glee about a player being poor, hungry and desperate is quite the take.”
Freeman also noted it remained unclear whether Prescott’s comments were the reason he was let go by the team.
“Brandon Faber, vice president of communications for the Bears, told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that Prescott is no longer with the team. He said he could not provide information on whether Prescott was let go as part of the normal post-draft turnover process in the scouting department that is common with many teams, or whether Prescott’s dismissal was due to his comments,” Freeman added.
“When we reduce black prospects’ stories of adversity to traits like 40 times, we reduce them as human beings,” Mina Kimes of ESPN said about Prescott’s comments, adding. “This is something we’ve all been complicit in, including the media and our word choice, the presentation of stories, but it’s 2022 and by now we should really all know better.”
When we reduce black prospects’ stories of adversity to traits like 40 times, we reduce them as human beings.
Some thoughts on the comments from a Bears scout on Jaquan Brisker this weekend, and a problem that continues to persist in draft commentary:
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Brisker Has Overcome Tragedy to Be Incredible Success Story
In 2015, when Brisker was just 15 years old, his older brother Tale’ was shot and killed in Prairie View, Texas at the age of 19.
“It was hard because when he passed, I didn’t want to go to school,” Brisker told Nittany Nation in 2021. “That put me behind in school because I didn’t really want to go to school and see people and communicate. It was hard to go back and learn and sit there and act like things were normal.”
Brisker found solace in the game of football.
“He was always an athletic kid and a kid who wanted to be around football,” Brisker’s former high school coach Terry Smith said, via Trib Live. “He would come to practice with his older brothers and just help out, just be around, be a sponge. You love football when you’re just hanging around it all day, every day.”
“Jaquan is easy to describe,” Smith added. “He’s mild-mannered. He sticks to himself. He’s not caught up in the nightlife. He doesn’t party or go out. He loves football, and he wants to play football, and he wants to be great at it.”
Brisker went on to be a standout at Penn State, earning overall grades of 82.0 from PFF in each of his three seasons with the Nittany Lions. He allowed a measly passer rating of 46.8 to opposing quarterbacks last season, notching six forced incompletions along with two interceptions.
Now, he’ll get an opportunity to be a starting safety as a rookie in the NFL opposite Eddie Jackson.
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Bears Fire Longtime Scout After ‘Alarming’ Comments, Make Front Office Changes