George McCaskey may want to nix the public speaking entirely after his latest meeting with the media.
The Chicago Bears chairman spoke to reporters in his annual year-end press conference, and his response to one question in particular has simultaneously set Bears fans off while also pointing out a glaring hypocrisy.
McCaskey was asked specifically about the team’s final home game against the Seattle Seahawks on December 26. The Bears lost that game, 6-3, and chants of “Sell the team” erupted from the stands. As the son of Virginia Halas McCaskey and Ed McCaskey, and the grandson of Bears founder George Halas, George represents the third generation of family leadership within the organization.
“It’s understandable,” he said, per Shaw Local’s Sean Hammond. “As Kevin (Warren) mentioned, our fans are passionate. They’re incredibly frustrated. They wanted to make their voices heard. I was more bothered by the week before when Lions fans tried to take over Soldier Field and force the home team to go to a silent snap count.”
About that December 22 matchup against Detroit: On the January 7 episode of 670 The Score’s “Spiegel & Holmes Show,” Derek Stevens, Lions fan and owner of Circa Hotel and Casino, appeared as a guest. When co-host Laurence Holmes asked Stevens if he was at that game, he answered in the affirmative: “Well, I don’t know where you want me to go with that, but McCaskey sold me a suite.”
Bears Fans Blast George McCaskey for Doing the Same Thing He Criticized Them For
According to Stevens, he left little doubt about his fandom when making arrangements to come to Soldier Field to attend the December 22 game. “I was very upfront about the fact that I was coming in from Vegas and that I had a bunch of Lions people coming,” Stevens told Holmes and co-host Matt Spiegel. “We were wearing Lions outfits and I didn’t want to be rude about it. We were being very upfront about it.”
McCaskey did make an amendment when making his original statement about Lions fans essentially taking over the game.
“It’s understandable that Bears fans would sell their tickets because of the way the season has gone,” McCaskey added. “And the challenge for us is to put a team on the field that Bears fans are so excited about they’re not interested in selling their tickets.”
When Bears fans caught wind of McCaskey’s hypocracy, though, they ripped him a new one.
“George ‘Just a Fan’ McCaskey bemoaned #Bears fans selling their tickets to Lions fans … I guess he forgot that he sold his tickets to Lions fans. … What an absolute joke,” analyst Quinten Krzysko wrote on X.
“George McCaskey out here gaslighting #Bears fans for selling their tickets to the opposition when he literally sold his suite,” one fan wrote.
“George might be the biggest moron in the McCaskey family which is impressive,” another fan added.
“George McCaskey talking about how concerning the Lions soldier field takeover was when he sold his suite to a Lions fan is pretty telling,” former NFL tight end Clay Harbor noted.
George McCaskey Doesn’t Have Great Track Record as an NFL Executive
Prior to ascending to the chairmanship, McCaskey served the Bears in multiple capacities, notably as the senior director of ticket operations from 1991. His appointment as chairman followed the retirement of his brother, Michael McCaskey, marking a continuation of the family’s stewardship of the franchise.
Under George’s leadership, the Bears have experienced mostly disappointing on-field performances, with a record of 86 wins and 120 losses over his 12 seasons as chairman, placing them 24th in the NFL during that period.
Despite the team’s unwaivering mediocrity in recent years, McCaskey remains involved in significant organizational decisions, and that likely isn’t going to change any time soon.
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