Players' true colors only one shade of green

Bears players deserved credit for going green on Earth Day.

Say what? Oh, they're not GOING green? They're going FOR the green?

Not so admirable since they're all under contract already.

Tommie Harris wants more money. Devin Hester wants more money. Robbie Gould, a freakin' kicker, wants more money.

And, of course, Brian Urlacher, a mere five years into a nine-year deal, wants more money.

Surely we all can relate to being halfway through a contract that anted $13 million up front.

I know I sort of could Tuesday, when the Bears conducted a media briefing in advance of this weekend's college draft.

The McCaskeys fed me a healthy lunch beforehand. Then halfway through Lovie Smith's snorefest I threatened to leave unless they gave me more free food.

Ah, but I came to my senses and fulfilled my commitment to stay for the entire program. If only athletes would come to their senses, assuming they have any.

Anyway, only one question mattered on this day: Why would the Bears consider giving someone like Urlacher more money when they don't have to?

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo didn't want to discuss ongoing negotiations with veteran Bears players already under contract.

Instead he preferred being vague about what college players the Bears liked.

NFL general managers subscribe to "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." Then they conduct news conferences to say nothing to everybody at once instead of one reporter at a time.

As for the media, we would rather get no new information on Urlacher's contract demands than even less on whom the Bears might select in the draft.

So, Jerry, does it bother you that Urlacher is skipping voluntary workouts? Will his dissatisfaction with his contract become a distraction? Is he seeking to convert his slumping dollars into pesos, euros or yen?

Angelo established early that he's "not going to get into specifics on individual players," so let's speak hypothetically.

If a player signs a long-term contract (like, say, Urlacher's nine-year deal) for huge bucks (like, say, Urlacher's total $57 million) and midway through wants more money (as, say, Urlacher does) … well, why would a team give him a single additional dollar?

"I'm not going to say we wouldn't (consider it)," Angelo said. "There would be circumstances where we would look at it."

Among them, he added, is being fair to his own players, especially career-long Bears. What wasn't mentioned was the fear factor: A player unhappy with his contract might create pollution that spreads throughout the locker room like the plague.

Angelo used words like "chemistry" and "karma." But isn't keeping an athlete from disrupting a team the worst reason to give him big bucks, which he probably won't devote to stopping global warming?

Seriously, I couldn't be a general manager in the NFL or any other professional sport because my policy would be too rigid.

First of all, no player under contract who asks for more money would get any.

Second of all, a player under contract who doesn't ask for more money might get some just for honoring his deal.

Third of all, that's it. There wouldn't be a third of all.

If a player wants to GO green, or even go FOR the green, let him buy a Prius instead of a Hummer.