The Chicago Bears kicked off their organized team activities (OTAs) in a very different way than years’ past. And no, it wasn’t just because of the virtual format.
The senseless, brutal murder of George Floyd have sparked protests and outrage across the nation, and it’s a reminder that some things are bigger than sports.
Which is something Bears head coach Matt Nagy understands.
“Football is extremely secondary,” Nagy told reporters Wednesday. “We have to get life right.”
Nagy put football aside and spent the entirety of the Bears’ two-hour meeting on Monday listening and supporting his players amid the social injustices that continue to ravage our world.
“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 said that more than 40 players spoke during Monday’s meeting, where they shared their feelings and stories.
“There was a lot of anger, there was a lot of fear in the conversations,” Nagy said. “There was disgust, there was sadness, there was compassion, hurt… There was a vulnerability in people’s stories.”
Nagy told reporters that black players were interested in what white players thought of what was happening, and that there was a lot of love and compassion. One of the themes Nagy continues to stress is the power of love, which was felt following the meeting.
The meeting was met with a ton of appreciation by players involved, and some of them shared their thoughts on Twitter.
