Akiem Hicks has garnered a reputation for being a monster on the football field. He’s also someone that’s not afraid to speak his mind off the field.
When Hicks met with the media on Wednesday, he was asked about Monday’s two-hour meeting that kicked off organized team activities. He admitted that he “didn’t think anything positive was going to come from” the meeting, believing it was an attempt to control a specific message.
“It was the complete opposite,” Hicks said. “It was totally different.”
“As a team, there was a level of healing involved in that call, and a moment of just us coming together,” Hicks said.
Bears coach Matt Nagy chose to put football on the back-burner Monday and discuss the social injustice happening in this country following another needless murder of a black man. Nagy spent the entire two-hour meeting listening and supporting his players.
“Talking to some of the guys helped me decide on Monday into really spending our allotted two hours [of our team meeting] just listening and to let our players know how much I and we support them,” Nagy said. “It was probably the most powerful two hour meeting I have ever been in and will ever be in.”
Nagy also mentioned that black players were interested in their white teammates’ opinions of what was happening, and that there was compassion and understanding. Hicks echoed Nagy’s sentiment.
“I don’t put any extra weight on anyone… I’m not gonna push anybody in any direction… What I will say about our team is we do a good job, I think, of stopping the separation and keeping guys together.”
