One day after Bears chairman George McCaskey and the five members of the team’s social justice committee published a video addressing the controversy surrounding their new throwback uniforms, coach Matt Nagy said he was proud of his players for doing so.
To celebrate their 100th season, the Bears introduced a new throwback uniform in June based on their 1936 kit. They’ll wear them twice this season, including Sunday.
Black players were banned in the league from 1934-45, and the Bears didn’t have a black player until 1952.
In the team-produced video, linebacker Danny Trevathan said the franchise is “glorious, but it’s not perfect,” while defensive lineman Akiem Hicks called the uniforms “a symbol for the people who came before us that weren’t allowed to wear this jersey.”
“It’s powerful to me,” Nagy said Wednesday. “I think it’s something that just we as an organization, as a team, it speaks volumes to who we are. I think it’s a special moment for all of us. I think it’s a special moment for them to be able to — for all of us to be able to — talk about it and collaborate about this. And, you know, it’s just something of unity. It’s who we are. And I’m proud of our guys for doing it.
“And you get that feeling just talking to everybody when we’re in there discussing what’s about to go on this weekend with the uniforms that it’s a good time, it’s a good story. And I think that our guys deserve a lot of credit.”
Nagy was asked if the jerseys were appropriate.
“I think the reason why we’re wearing them and then how we’re handling everything right now, absolutely,” Nagy said. “I think it’s a very positive story on a lot of different fronts, and so that’s where that’s at.”
The players were not prompted by the organization to address the issue, or to make the video.
For our NFC North showdown this Sunday at Soldier Field we'll be wearing our classic jerseys for the first time since 1936.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 25, 2019
Here’s an important message from our players and Chairman, looking ahead to Sunday. pic.twitter.com/SPbraNMFvL
The video was released on the Bears’ Twitter account at a time in which news receives lesser attention: 9:29 p.m. on a Tuesday.
It was posted Tuesday because that’s when the team turned the page from its social-media roundup of Monday’s game to looking ahead to the Vikings contest, Bears spokesman Brandon Faber said. The video, shot last week, was posted at night because that’s when the editing process was completed, Faber said.
“I think they did a fabulous job with it,” Nagy said. “And you saw [Tuesday] with the video coming out what it means to them and what it means to us. And so it’s really not hard. It’s as simple as that. And I like that they’re doing it.”
