{"id":265350,"date":"2026-09-26T20:41:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/26\/former-nfl-star-brian-urlacher-slams-colin-kaepernick-for-national-anthem-protest-line-in-the-sand\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T20:41:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:41:58","slug":"former-nfl-star-brian-urlacher-slams-colin-kaepernick-for-national-anthem-protest-line-in-the-sand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/26\/former-nfl-star-brian-urlacher-slams-colin-kaepernick-for-national-anthem-protest-line-in-the-sand\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NFL Star Brian Urlacher Slams Colin Kaepernick for National Anthem Protest: \u2018Line in the Sand\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Former NFL star Brian Urlacher<\/strong><\/a> is pulling no punches when discussing former quarterback Colin Kaepernick\u2019<\/strong><\/a>s headline-making 2016 national anthem protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics \u2014 I didn\u2019t even know what I was [politically] back then,\u201d Urlacher, a legendary linebacker for the Chicago Bears who competed in the NFL for 13 seasons before his 2013 retirement, said while appearing on OutKick Sport<\/em>\u2019s \u201cThe Craig Carton Show.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t care, man\u2026 You can\u2019t have the racial divide in the locker room,\u201d the Hall of Famer, 48, continued. \u201cIt\u2019s just not going to work. If you do, your team is going to be s***.\u201d<\/p>\n

Urlacher went on to add, \u201cThe thing with him taking a knee would have been really, really f***ing hard for me to put up with in that locker room. That would have been something that would have probably been a line in the sand for me when it comes to stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Colin Kaepernick Would ‘Absolutely’ Consider Playing Olympic Flag Football<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tColin Kaepernick would \u201cabsolutely\u201d consider representing Team USA at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles when flag football makes its Olympics debut.\u00a0 \u201cI would have a ball going out there and doing that,\u201d Kaepernick, 38, exclusively told Us ahead of the release of his new book, The Perilous Fight, out Tuesday, September 15. \u201cI [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kaepernick, 38, was the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers when he made the controversial decision to take a knee during the national anthem to protest ongoing police brutality and racial inequality. The quarterback explained at the time that he made the decision after speaking with former Army Green Beret and fellow NFL player Nate Boyer<\/strong>, who suggested kneeling as a way to respectfully protest while still beginning attention to systemic racism.<\/p>\n

The quarterback became a free agent after the 2016\u20132017 NFL season, and was ultimately passed over by every team in the league. He has not played in the NFL since.<\/p>\n

\n
\"brianurlachercolinkaepernick.png\"<\/div>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019d retired, so I was watching all this happen on TV, and we quit watching,\u201d Urlacher recalled of watching Kaepernick protest on television in 2016. \u201cThere were probably two, two and a half, three years where we didn\u2019t watch football. I was like, as long as this s***\u2019s taking place, I\u2019m not watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further claimed, \u201cMy wife was fully on board. She\u2019s all about that as well. So we just didn\u2019t watch pro football for a few years there because of all the s*** that was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaepernick, who has stood by his decision to protest despite it arguably costing him his NFL career<\/a>, opened up exclusively to Us<\/em> as he prepared for the September 15 release of his new book, The Perilous Fight<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\"\"
\n\t\"\"<\/p>\n