Bears players release statement vowing to make a difference

On Thursday, one day after teams in the the NBA, the WNBA, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer postponed a number of games in protest over Jacob Blake being shot by a Kenosha police officer, the Chicago Bears cancelled practice.

The players issued the following statement.

“In the wake of what has taken place in our backyard of Kenosha over the last couple of days, we as a team have a lot on our mind today. We decided to pause our football activities to voice to each other, our coaches and our staff where we stand on the real issues around race and police brutality in our country.

“We had a productive discussion, but we all agreed that talks and discussions are simply not enough anymore and we need action. We are putting in plans to take action in our communities and together we believe we can make a real difference. We need action not only today, but in the days to come.”

The Bears were one of several NFL teams to cancel practice while other teams are set to alter some of their regularly scheduled events.

The sports world is coming together to peacefully bring awareness and to make a difference in their communities, and the Bears vow to lead the way in theirs.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association also issued a statement today.

“The NFL community is united more than ever to support one another in these challenging times. We share anger and frustration, most recently as a result of the shooting of Jacob Blake.

While our passions continue to run high, we are proud that our players and clubs, League and Union, are taking time to have the difficult conversations about these issues that affect the Black community and other communities of color in America. We are especially encouraged that these conversations are about how we can come together to make the necessary and long overdue changes in our country.

We will continue to not only use our collective platform to call out racism and injustice whenever and wherever it occurs in our country, but also fight together to eradicate it.”