George McCaskey’s initial reaction when he heard about Brian Urlacher’s controversial Instagram posts last month was that it wasn’t the former Bears player writing at all.
“My first thought,” he said Thursday, “was that maybe his account had been hacked.”
When it was clear that it wasn’t, the Bears issued a statement last month distancing themselves from what he wrote.
McCaskey has been trying to get ahold of Urlacher since, but with no luck.
“Having known him for 20 years and knowing the type of person he is,” McCaskey said, “I’m not going to judge him until I talk to him.”
The posts didn’t jibe with the man McCaskey knew as a player.
Urlacher’s Instagram account “liked” a post that called for the freeing of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Antioch resident charged with first-degree homicide, among other allegations, after killing two people and injuring a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Urlacher also authored a post dismissing NBA player protests after Jacob Blake was shot in the back in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“Brett Favre played the MNF game the day his dad died, threw 4 TDs in the first half and was a legend for playing in the face of adversity,” wrote the author of the official 54Urlacher account, which is verified by Instagram. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on [a] felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”
Favre starred for the Packers on Dec. 23, 2003, beating the Raiders on “Monday Night Football” the day after his father, Irvin, died of a heart attack.
Former Bears players — notably ex-running back Matt Forte — Tweeted their disappointment with Urlacher’s posts last month.
“To be a public success and a private failure is no life to live,” Forte wrote. “I still have love and respect for [Urlacher], as well as all people, and we can lovingly disagree — but not when it comes to the oppression of people and racism.
