On Wednesday, Chicago Bears legendary CB Charles “Peanut” Tillman went on The Pivot Podcast for a long-form interview. Among other things, Tillman discussed why he recently left the FBI, an organization he joined back in 2018 after retiring from the NFL in 2015.
“Let me start off by saying this,” Tillman said. “The FBI was great to me, I did awesome. I worked with an amazing group of individuals. I think some of the things that they’re doing now I personally didn’t agree with.”
“Like what?” host Ryan Clark asked.
“Immigration,” Tillman responded. “I didn’t agree with how the administration came in and tried to make individuals do things against their — it just didn’t sit right. An example being immigration, right? Everybody was told you’re gonna go after the most dangerous criminals. But what you see on TV, and what actually was happening, is people weren’t going after that. And personally, that didn’t sit right with me, that didn’t sit right with my conscience.”
Tillman, a former second-round pick of the Bears out of Louisiana, played 13 seasons in the NFL, the first 12 of which were in Chicago. For his career, he has 912 tackles, three sacks, 38 interceptions, 44 forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, 140 passes defensed, and nine defensive touchdowns. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro in 2012 and was named to two Pro Bowls, and was known as one of the league’s best cornerbacks during his time in Chicago.
Chicago Bears’ Charles Tillman on Listening to His Conscience
Jonathan Daniel/GettyCHICAGO – AUGUST 21: Charles Tillman #33 of the Chicago Bears smiles on the sidelines during a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders at Soldier Field on August 21, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Raiders defeated the Bears 32-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
“You have the ability to refuse an order,” Tillman continued. “Just because they say, ‘go arrest this person,’ like okay yeah, you’re my superior, but I don’t have to go do that, you can’t make me go do that. I’m not in the military, you gave me an order but I can totally refuse that order. At the end of the day, I want to be on the right side of history when it’s all said and done.”
“Do I think there are individuals in the organization, do they like doing some of the stuff they’re doing? Absolutely not. I think they hate it. I think I was in a different position because of my previous career. I made enough money to where I could just walk away and say, ‘you know what guys? I’m okay, I think I’m good. You know, my first eight years, I’ve been solid, we were doing some good things. Some of the stuff you guys are doing now I don’t necessarily agree with.’ And that’s not in Chicago, that comes from Washington. And I left on good terms with people and my friends, and I don’t have like a sour taste or a bitter taste in my mouth about the FBI. I learned a lot. They taught me good skills.”
Chicago Bears’ Charles Tillman on Not Doubting Yourself
“I was looking at the Obama Pivot that you all did,” Tillman said. “And this holds true. He said, ‘Don’t ever think that you don’t belong at a table.’ So when I went to the academy, I was a little intimidated, I ain’t even gonna lie to you. You know, I’m sitting next to somebody that went to Harvard, I’m sitting next to this lawyer, and I’m just like, ‘Damn. I’m just from Copperas Grove, Texas, you know. I got a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in emergency management, it ain’t nothing in law or like Harvard.'”
“But when you apply yourself, and you’re doing all the things the other people are doing from all these very prestigious institutions. And I sit right there with them, and I’m like, ‘I’m killing it just like you. You went to Harvard, and you don’t know how to — are you serious?’ It just made me think, ‘why did I ever doubt myself? why did I ever doubt myself? I can do this job, I can do that job, or this job, or your job. I can do these jobs.’ Don’t ever doubt yourself. And that was something, when [Obama] said that, that was the first thing I thought of. When I went to the FBI academy.”
Bears Legend Charles Tillman Reveals Why He Left the FBI