Bears OL coach Juan Castillo wears Black Lives Matter shirt at practice

In a powerful statement, Chicago Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo wore a Black Lives Matter shirt while at practice. 

We’ve quite frankly never seen leagues and teams unite in such a powerful way in the history of sports. On Wednesday, NBA squads, led by the Milwaukee Bucks, boycotted playing in postseason games in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

Since then, the major sports leagues across the country have also taken a stand, sitting out games, postponing practices and more. On Thursday, the Chicago Bears joined the list, canceling their session.

Before things were changed, offensive line coach Juan Castillo sent quite the powerful statement, hitting the practice field in a Black Lives Matter shirt.

The Bears canceled Thursday’s practice shortly after some players took the field

Castillo, along with the millions of other folks across the United States, was clearly overcome with emotion to watch the video of Blake being shot in the back by police officers in Wisconsin several times.

Since the unfortunate incident came to light, countless protests have taken place across the country. While the Bucks got things started by not playing in their playoff game on Wednesday, they were quick to see loads of support. It’s since been reported that the Lakers and Clippers are planning to boycott the rest of the season.

For the Bears, it’s clear Castillo and the players/coaches in the locker room have been rocked by Blake’s shooting. It’s unclear when they’ll return to practice, but a clear message was sent on Thursday morning with their decision to cancel things.

With the NFL season set to kickoff in less than three weeks, missing any practice time is obviously not going to help out any teams out there. However, players and coaches won’t sit back and not join the fight against social injustices and police brutality either. The Bears, and Castillo, want to make sure their voices are being heard.