Akiem Hicks is never one to sugarcoat his responses. The reason he is a locker room leader for the Chicago Bears is that he speaks from the heart. He loves the game of football. However, the reality is he’s also a proud black man. One who has had to “censor” himself his entire life to avoid being blackballed from doing what he loves. He’s had to act a certain way that hasn’t necessarily always been the real him.

After seeing what happened to Colin Kaepernick back in 2016, having the courage to stand up for what he believes in and watching his NFL career get taken from him as a result? Hicks became understandably jaded. Why should he believe any NFL team would ever truly try to embrace what he and many other black men are trying to accomplish? That is to create meaningful change.

This is why he admitted during his recent video conference with Bears media that he wasn’t wild about attending the teams’ Monday meeting. One where the George Floyd murder would be discussed and the floor would be opened to talks.

“I didn’t think anything positive was going to come from it. I didn’t know why we were having this moment where we were singing ‘Kumbaya’ and trying to get over what’s really happening in the world. I felt like it might be a control situation where they want to control the narrative and point us in a direction so when we talk to you guys there’s only going to be a certain message that you guys hear.”

Akiem Hicks was shocked at how open the discussions truly were

He was not prepared for what went down. Head coach Matt Nagy said 139 people were part of the Zoom call. Somewhere between 40-50 of them ended up speaking. Not just the black players and coaches but the white ones as well. Hicks couldn’t believe how raw, emotional, and real it got.

“It was totally different. I watched young black men, young white men, older coaches from all across the United States, and watching everybody rebuild themselves in a way that isn’t common in sport or masculinity in general, and express their real feelings. Out in the open. Out in positions where you feel like somebody could start pointing at you and say, ‘Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good guy. I don’t know (if) we want him or that’s the type of person we want around the building.’ Everybody let those feelings go and shared from the heart and shared their real experiences.

There was some hurtful stuff in there. There was some stuff where people were changed and altered for life. And I won’t speak on it because that’s their story and that’s what they’re dealing with. But I will say this: As a team, there was a level of healing involved in that call and there was a level of us just coming together. We just got a little bit tighter because we had this experience together. It was a positive call, and I think it changed the lives of some of the young men on the team, and it changed mine. It changed my perspective on life.”

To him, the Bears grew as a team after that.

People may not like reading stuff like this. It’s uncomfortable. Yet that is exactly the point. Actual change will never happen unless everybody embraces this uncomfortable truth. Otherwise, what happened to Floyd and is happening around the country will keep coming back. This is what Hicks wants to avoid. Seeing his team stop to actually try and learn was refreshing. A welcome sign that meaningful changes may come.