Urlacher takes a step in the wrong direction

There is Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and the late Walter Payton, but beyond that gridiron holy trinity you'd be hard pressed to find a Bear more beloved by the team's fans than Brian Urlacher.

Most believe the Hall of Fame middle linebacker walks on water.

Thursday, however, Urlacher stepped on something very different, something truly nasty, not once but twice. And then before he could even think about getting the stink off himself, he compounded his woes with a field trip that found him front and center at President Donald Trump's Republican National Convention.

Take a breath Trump fans, I am not suggesting there is anything at all wrong with Urlacher supporting the president or attending the convention.

Clearly that is his and your choice to make, and no one has the right to fault you for exercising it.

It's just that often context and timing are everything, and in this particular case Urlacher did neither himself nor Trump any favors.

It was Instagram that got Urlacher in hot water when he first offered the following thoughts about the NBA players' protest the evening before in light of the ongoing social unrest in Kenosha, 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. NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.”

It would appear safe to say that Urlacher might have posted without thinking, might not have fully understood the nuance of why NBA players were protesting or what he was saying. And if he ever took the class, he flunked sensitivity training spectacularly.

I know the man and I'd bet his focus was on the concept of “just because you're upset you still have to play the game,” not the social unrest they were highlighting.

I'm not defending him in any way. I think what he did was spectacularly inappropriate, ignorant and wrong.

I'm just saying I suspect in the moment his focus was on football, not race relations.

Never one to go at anything less than full speed, though he then doubled down by searching out and liking a post that said “Free Kyle Rittenhouse,” picturing the Antioch teenage vigilante who shot and killed two protesters and wounded a third with his automatic weapon.

Forget what I just said.

I still think I'm right, but there's no explanation for Urlacher's choice to double down.

That he could be that dumb while current Bears players also were taking time off and issuing the following statement is a bit mind boggling:

“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,” the players said in a statement. “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.”

For good measure Urlacher's former bosses also were quick to respond.

“The social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization,” the team said.

The problem with his connection to Trump for an encore should be obvious.

The president is battling his own issues brought on by his appearing to be more interested in supporting white nationalists and vigilantes than the Black Lives Matter movement.

The current Chicago Bears 80-man roster includes 59 African-American players, the NFL overall is now a similar 73-to-74 percent Black, and it was on Urlacher's Bears teams as well.

One of 54's greatest compliments is the number of teammates who supported his road to Canton felt he always put team ahead of self.

Good luck finding one of them who still believe that today.

Urlacher appears to have burned a crucial bridge he may never be able to rebuild.

• Twitter: @Hub_Arkush