Brian Urlacher demeans NBA boycott, Nebraska football players sue Big Ten over postponement, more sports news

Brian Urlacher is one of the most well-respected linebackers of his time. While his Chicago Bears organization showed their support for Jacob Blake today, Urlacher didn’t seem to agree.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer compared the NBA’s boycott to Brett Favre playing on Monday Night Football after his father’s death. NBA players started a protest that later included many professional sports league after the Bucks boycotted their playoff game against the Magic after Blake was shot by police seven times in the back in Kenosha, Wis.

Urlacher also liked a post on Instagram that said “Free Kyle Rittenhouse!!!! Patriot Lives Matter!!!”

Rittenhouse was the 17-year old white male who was arrested for firing a semi-automatic rifle and killing two people during protests in Kenosha, Wis.

Rittenhouse is expected to be charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

Nebraska’s football season was postponed after the Big Ten’s decision to cancel the 2020 schedule earlier this month, but some parents and players haven’t lost all hope.

Eight Nebraska players filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten, aiming to invalidate the conference’s decision to postpone the season, award temporary and injunctive relief, and award nominal damages for breach of contract.

“This lawsuit isn’t about money or damages, it’s about real-life relief,” Mike Flood, the players’ attorney, said in a statement. “These student-athletes have followed all the precautions, underwent regular testing and lived according to the prescribed guidelines ... for the chance to play football in September. On Aug. 11, six days after announcing the fall football schedule, a decision was made to cancel everything with vague reasoning and no explanation.”

Nebraska was the one Big Ten school that publicly spoke out against the Big Ten’s decision. Rumors swirled about the Cornhuskers possibly pursuing other opportunities to play in the fall, but those were put to bed after Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said Nebraska wouldn’t be a member of the Big Ten if it played football in the fall.

No other Big Ten school has had players or parents take legal action against the conference.

Penn State head coach James Franklin wasn’t happy about the timing of the Big Ten’s decision, either.

“It’s difficult to continue getting up in front of those people as a leader of my organization and not only deliver bad news, but not be able to deliver the answers to their questions,” Franklin said last week.

Warren has no intention of changing the decision. If the Big Ten has football, it’ll likely be in the spring.

Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen wasn’t sure how much he wanted to invest in the club after players boycotted games on Wednesday.

“It’s taken a lot of wind out of my sails, what effort I want to put into recruiting players and building a great team,” Hansen said in the radio interview. “It just seems that’s not a very good path to take.”

The Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell was one of the people who responded to Hansen, suggesting that he sell the franchise.

Toronto FC forward and U.S. National Team member Jozy Altidore echoed Mitchell’s statement.

Players across the MLS boycotted on Wednesday night to protest police brutality and the shooting of Blake. Real Salt Lake was one of the clubs that had its games postponed due to the protest.