Pro Football Hall of Famer rips NBA players boycotting playoffs over Kenosha shootings
Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher took to social media to call out NBA players who are boycotting playoff games in the Orlando, Florida, restart.
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks chose not to play Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by Kenosha police in 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,” Urlacher wrote on an Instagram Live video. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on [a] felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”
A knife was found on the driver’s side floorboard inside Blake’s car, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Three domestic abuse-related charges — criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and third-degree sexual assault — were filed against Blake in July, according to Reuters.
Urlacher’s Instagram post refers to Dec. 23, 2003, when quarterback Brett Farve led the Green Bay Packers to a 41-7 victory against the Oakland Raiders a day after his father died of a heart attack. Favre threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns during the victory.
Urlacher also liked a controversial Instagram post with a picture of Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old accused of the fatal shooting of two people during protests in Kenosha.
Urlacher spent his entire career with the Bears and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Pro Football Hall of Famer rips NBA players boycotting playoffs over Kenosha shootings."