Chicago Bears owner appears ready to accept challenge of keeping NFL safe

George McCaskey is not your typical NFL owner.

While McCaskey and the family he represents are fabulously wealthy as owners of a huge chunk of a $3 billion asset, it is the family business. They are the only ownership group in the league without great personal wealth from outside the franchise.

Their attention is focused on the Bears 100% of the time.

For McCaskey and his family, the Bears are a legacy they often appear to view as their heritage, that they bear a responsibility to protect and nourish, as much for the city of Chicago and Bears fans everywhere as for the family business.

It also is not lost on McCaskey that while he is a white Catholic deeply religious man from a privileged family, the majority of his key employees are Black, many coming from a very different reality than his. A significant segment of his customer base might understand that, and other customers may not at all.

It is an extremely complex prism through which he views, and must now approach, this strangest of NFL seasons in what is almost certainly the most challenging environment in almost all of our lifetimes.

On Thursday, McCaskey spent a half-hour or so visiting with media and offering us some insight into how he intends to do it.

When I asked how he hopes to best serve the needs of his players and customers/fans he was clear in his conviction.

"Well, you saw it just a few days ago when the players said, I think it was August 27, this (current social unrest) is more important than football," he said.

"Some of these issues that need our attention, that demand our attention, are more important than sports, and I think our guys realize that if they have a platform where they can voice their concerns and make things better they're going to try to take advantage of it."

If that wasn't clear enough, he added a little later on: "I hope the players know that they're in an environment here where they will be supported, and we've told them that whatever they decide to do, we will support them."

At the same time, McCaskey made it clear he isn't going to be choosing any sides.

When asked if he believes the NFL correctly handled the Colin Kaepernick situation a few years back, he told us, "Yeah, I don't know.

"You could say, this should've been done, that should've been done. This is an issue that sharply divides people. For everybody who says that the players should take a knee, you find somebody else who says 'no, the players should stand with their hands over their hearts during the anthem.'

"So I don't know that there's any absolute right way to handle it.

"We're encouraging our players to follow their hearts and their consciences, and one of the things that impresses me the most is that for our guys it's not just taking a knee. They want to have a positive impact on the community."

McCaskey's view of his football team and how he will evaluate the performance of his top executives (read general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy) appears equally clear.

"We think that the team that best adapts to those challenges will have a better chance of winning, and that's the goal, to win," McCaskey said. "The goal every year is to win the Super Bowl.

"Two years ago we made a great run, fell short. Last year we regressed, so we need to find out which team it is. We're all evaluated on a regular basis.

"That's true of my performance, and it's true of Ryan's performance. And he knows that. I've been impressed with his and Matt's leadership during these chaotic, challenging times."

In light of what everyone is dealing with every day - and what we've seen so far from other major businesses and enterprises over the past six, seven months - it's impossible not to be impressed by what the NFL has done to get to its opening games. Does McCaskey think it can be maintained?

"We have to be vigilant; we can't be complacent," he said. "We have to be disciplined, we have to stick to the program, we can't let our guard down.

"We have a responsibility to each other here in the building and to Bears fans specifically and sports fans generally to do this thing right.

"We were told early on that it only takes one or two teams to knock the whole thing out, so we have to do our part and hope that other teams do their part to keep this thing going."

And there it is - "We have a responsibility to each other here in the building and to Bears fans specifically and sports fans generally to do this thing right."

George McCaskey, Chicago Bears owner, keeper of the public trust ... or both?

Thursday he appeared to be a man just happy to be back in the role he was born to accept, eager for the challenge ahead and as unsure as most of us about exactly where it might lead.

• Twitter: @Hub_Arkush