Brian Urlacher: Colin Kaepernick's Protests 'Wouldn't Have Flown' in My Locker Room

NFL legend Brian Urlacher stated that Colin Kaepernick's controversial protests during the national anthem in 2016 would not have been accepted in his Chicago Bears locker room. Urlacher, a Hall of Fame linebacker, shared his views on Kaepernick's actions and team dynamics during an appearance on 'The Craig Carton Show.'

When asked about the presence of politics in the Bears' locker room during his playing days, Urlacher responded unequivocally. "No," he said. "Politics — I didn't even know what I was (politically) back then. I didn't care, man... You can't have the racial divide in the locker room. It's just not going to work. If you do, your team is going to be s---."

Urlacher emphasized that the primary goal in a locker room is for all players to work together towards a common objective. He described Kaepernick's on-field protests as a significant distraction that he would have found difficult to tolerate. "The thing with him taking a knee would have been really, really f---king hard for me to put up with in the locker room," Urlacher said. "That would have been something that would have probably been a line in the sand for me when it comes to stuff like that."

He and host Craig Carton agreed that in a professional sports environment, a player's contribution and presence are paramount, regardless of their background or personal beliefs. Urlacher noted that while disagreements can occur among teammates, they are typically resolved quickly. "We have to get along (in the locker room)," he stated. "There are going to be spats, don't get me wrong. There are some times where you get into it with your teammates, but then literally 30 minutes later it's squashed. You're over it. You're moving on."

Urlacher also revealed that the controversy surrounding Kaepernick's protests led him and his wife to stop watching professional football for several years. "I'd retired, so I was watching all this happen on TV, and we quit watching. There were probably two, two and a half, three years where we didn't watch football. I was like, as long as this s---'s taking place, I'm not watching. My wife was fully on board. She's all about that as well. So we just didn't watch pro football for a few years there because of all the s--- that was going on."