Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher recently spoke against transgender athletes in sports and reiterated his stance Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Urlacher appeared on the "Global View" podcast and wondered why it is even a debate. On Wednesday's edition of "America Reports," he said it is "common sense."

"Athletically, it's just not fair. You know, men are meant to play with men," Urlacher said. "That's why there's the NBA and the WNBA or LPGA and PGA Tour. They're different. I just don't understand how people think it's OK for a male to participate in a woman's sport. 

"There are just so many biological differences. You have the guy that was swimming with the women there from Penn a couple years ago with Riley Gaines and some of her teammates, and you saw how he was with the men compared to with the women. It's just not fair. It's pretty obvious to most people."

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Urlacher also questioned why other girls and women are not speaking out but pointed out that doing so has hurt them.

"You see these girls stand up, and it's really hurting themselves when they stand up because they're not competing because they don't want to compete against a man. So, they're stepping down from their competitions," he added.

"And it's kind of funny coming from people who push women's rights, and they want to fight for women's rights, but they don't wanna fight for women's rights in sports. They want men to come in there and dominate the sports against the women. It's just, it's not fair. It's common sense. I think we've seen President Trump talk about it since he's been elected. It's pretty much common sense just to not have men in women's sports.

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"It's just not fair. You know, I saw a track athlete in South Carolina a couple of years ago doing the same thing, just winning every event. There's biological differences. Men should not be competing against women. It's not fair. It's dangerous. You saw the volleyball player, the man spiking the ball, hitting the woman in the face. 

"It's … not fair and it can be really dangerous. It's funny what Aaron [Rodgers] said. You don't see women try competing against men in our sports. You don't see them trying to play football. You don't see them try and do things that they wouldn't be as good at or could get hurt at."

Illinois, where Urlacher spent his NFL career, has become a hotbed of controversy over the issue of trans athlete inclusion in recent days after a biological male competed in a seventh-grade track meet against biological females at the Naper Prairie Conference Meet.

Several other states have defied President Donald Trump's executive order on the issue, resulting in Maine temporarily losing federal funding.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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Former Chicago Bears star linebacker Brian Urlacher made his stance known on the issue of transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports as the debate creates a divide in the state where he made his reputation – Illinois. 

Urlacher shared his opinion on the issue during an interview on the "Global View" podcast on May 9 and questioned why it is even a debate in some circles.

"Why is it even a debate? A woman is a woman and a man is a man… you're born with what you're born with," Urlacher said. 

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Urlacher even referenced an ongoing controversy in Minnesota, where a transgender pitcher is currently dominating the girls' softball season. The trans athlete reportedly won 14 straight games heading into the playoffs and earned first-team All-State honors rocked the state in recent weeks. 

"It's just different because we are men, there are certain things we do better than women, and it's just, number one, it's not fair, and if I had a daughter who had to be forced to play against a man I would not be okay with it and I would raise hell about it," Urlacher said. 

"I just don't get it, it's a common sense thing, I just don't see how you can push this and make someone thing they're a different sex."

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The Pro Football Hall of Famer praised President Donald Trump for signing the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order at the White House on Feb. 5. 

Illinois has become a hotbed of controversy over the issue of trans athlete inclusion in recent days after a biological male competed in a seventh-grade track meet against biological females at the Naper Prairie Conference Meet. 

The incident resulted in a Naperville 203 Community School District Board meeting descending into a heated debate over the issue on Monday. 

Awake Illinois has filed a civil rights complaint against the district, with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights alleging a violation of Title IX.

They called on federal funds to be withheld from the district, which it says receives between $8 million and $9 million in federal grants annually. The complaint is part of a broader effort by Awake Illinois, which previously filed similar Title IX complaints against other districts and the Illinois State Board of Education.

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Former NFL star Boomer Esiason had a terse message for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams after a book revealed details of the former USC standout trying to avoid being selected by the NFC North team in 2024.

Williams and his father, Carl, asked attorneys to find a workaround to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, explored signing in the United Football League and considered ripping the city of Chicago and the team to create a controversy, according to "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback."

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Still, the Bears selected Williams with the No. 1 overall pick and he played only 12 games under Matt Eberflus before the coach was fired. Now, Williams will get to play under Ben Johnson.

Esiason talked about the book’s details on his WFAN morning show in New York.

"The level of entitlement is breathtaking. It’s no wonder why he failed initially, and it’s no wonder why the coach got fired. So now they go out and get an offensive coach in Ben Johnson. 

"So you know what? Now it’s on his a--. It’s going to be on his a-- to live up to these so-called lofty expectations that he has for himself and that his father has for his son. I understand that there could be a discussion, ‘Hey, this is where quarterbacks go to die.’ Well, go fix it. Be the reason that the team is going to turn it around, and you be the player that you think you are."

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Esiason said he would tell Williams to just "keep your mouth shut, you’re going into the greatest league that there’s ever been for the sport that we all love, you’re gonna have a chance one day to make $500 million, because guys like me and guys before me all went on strike so you could actually make more money."

"Keep your pie-hole shut, and go out and play football and earn your keep and earn your respect."

Williams, nor the Bears, have commented on the book’s details.

Williams said at the time of Johnson’s hiring that he was "extremely excited" about it.

"Then once I got off the phone, I was driving on the highway, and I don't know if it was safe or not, but I gave a loud yell and scream of just excitement," Williams said. "It brings a bunch of clarity to the offseason. It brings a bunch of different things to the offseason. I'm really excited about the Bears and being able to make this happen. And keep Ben Johnson as our coach for a long time."

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Eli Manning and John Elway almost had company.

A new book details how Caleb Williams apparently tried to avoid getting drafted by the Chicago Bears last year.

Williams and his family consulted with lawyers to find a loophole in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, all while his father told the book's author, Seth Wickersham, that "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die."

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Williams himself wondered if he could "do it" with Shane Waldron, who has since been fired from his offensive coordinator role. His father, Carl, was also concerned about Matt Eberflus (also since let go as the head coach), and uncertainty within the franchise, along with the fate of previous first-round quarterbacks the organization had selected, that would hold his son back.

"I don't want my son playing for the Bears," Carl Williams apparently said. Caleb actually told his dad that he "needed" to go to the Minnesota Vikings after meeting with them, knowing how unlikely that would be.

In fact, the quarterback even considered signing into the United Football League out of USC, rather than being the automatic first pick in the NFL.

The details are highlighted in Wickersham's book, "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," which is set to be released in September. 

The Bears declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Williams' rep.

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Williams eventually stayed in the NFL Draft, and he was convinced after sitting down with Bears brass that he could succeed there. General manager Ryan Poles was not budging, and Williams did not want to pull a Manning from 2004, or Elway in 1983.

He was selected by Chicago to be their next franchise quarterback, and thankfully for the Williamses, a couple of their concerns – the aforementioned Eberflus and Waldron – are no longer in the organization. Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson joined the Bears to be their new head coach this offseason. It was a move that Williams was "extremely excited" about, to the point where he even thanked Bears brass in a phone call.

"Then once I got off the phone, I was driving on the highway and I don't know if it was safe or not, but I gave a loud yell and scream of just excitement," Williams said. "It brings a bunch of clarity to the offseason. It brings a bunch of different things to the offseason. I'm really excited about the Bears and being able to make this happen. And keep Ben Johnson as our coach for a long time."

He had an up-and-down rookie season, partially due to the coaching carousel inside the building. He was also sacked 68 times, the most in the NFL. But in all, he ended up with 20 touchdowns, six interceptions, 3,541 passing yards, and 489 rushing yards. His 4,030 total yards were the most by a Bears quarterback ever.

Williams got some additional help in the NFL Draft, as Chicago drafted Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick.

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The NFL released the schedules for all 32 teams on Wednesday, and some have it a little tougher than others this season. 

The NFL does not have a balanced schedule, which is why some teams will see tougher or easier schedules regardless of how they did last season. 

Trying to predict the strength of a schedule is an inexact science because teams do change a lot from season to season, whether that would be in free agency, the NFL Draft or changes to the front office and coaching staff.

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Regardless, here are the three teams whose 2025 opponents have the highest combined win percentage from the 2024 season and have a gauntlet of a schedule. 

Despite a dreadful 3-14 season that nearly cost general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll their jobs, the Giants have the hardest schedule in football.

The Giants' opponents for the upcoming season have a combined .574 winning percentage. The NFC East is set to play both the NFC North and AFC West this season, and both divisions harbor three teams that made the playoffs last season.

The beginning of the Giants' schedule is particularly rough, as six of their first eight games are against playoff teams from last season. 

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Below is the Giants' schedule:

Caleb Williams’ second year with the Bears will be a challenge, as their opponents had a combined winning percentage of .571.

Every team in the NFC North except for the Bears made the playoffs last season, and the Bears will match up against each of their division foes twice this season. 

In addition to the usual six games against their division rivals, the NFC North is taking on the NFC East and AFC North this season. The NFC East holds the Super Bowl champion Eagles and the Commanders, who were knocked out by Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game. 

The AFC North had two playoff teams last season in the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, and that doesn’t include the Cincinnati Bengals, who just narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

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Below is the Bears’ schedule:

The Lions, like the Bears, are in the NFC North and most of their opponents overlap, so both teams’ opponents have a combined winning percentage of .571. 

The Lions went an outstanding 15-2 last season, but will face a much taller task in 2025 to have the same record. 

In addition to having a difficult schedule, the team lost both coordinators from last year’s team. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson took the Bears’ head coaching job, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is now the New York Jets’ head coach. 

Below is the Lions' schedule:

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The 2025 NFL schedule has been released, and FOX’s booth of Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady have quite the matchups to call for "America’s Game of the Week."

Brady joined the Burkhardt team, which included Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi, for the 2024 season. The quartet is back for another exciting slate of games that starts with a Super Bowl rematch. 

The Philadelphia Eagles are traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs, the team they defeated, 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. That game will kick off in Week 2. 

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From there, the crew will call the following games: 

So, after seeing who comes out on top between the two conference winners in 2024, Dak Prescott and his new receiver George Pickens will head to the "Windy City" to face Caleb Williams and his expected new-look offense under head coach Ben Johnson, who led the Lions’ dynamic bunch as their offensive coordinator last year. 

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A matchup between two of the most explosive offenses in the league will happen in Cincinnati, as the Lions and Jared Goff will try to outscore Joe Burrow, who expects his stellar performance to result in a playoff spot this time around. 

Additionally, of course, some classic divisional rivalries are in the slate, including a good Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Jordan Love-led Packers and Lions. The NFC East will also be featured with the Week 12 and Week 18 games. 

The Lions, as well as the Cowboys, will be the most featured teams for "America’s Game of the Week," as they will each play four times. 

It is also worth pointing out how the Commanders, who made it to the NFC Championship Game last season, are now thrust into the position of being a playoff contender moving forward under the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, quarterback Jayden Daniels. 

Perhaps the Giants, a team with a brand-new quarterbacks room which includes Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and first-rounder Jaxson Dart, can find themselves in the same position as Washington this season. 

It will be tough sledding, as they have the hardest strength of schedule of any team in 2025. 

With the schedule released, the only thing left to do is wait in suspense as NFL teams continue to work through the offseason with training camp ahead this summer. 

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When NFL division races get hot and heavy late in the 2025 season, you will be able to catch plenty of the action on a Saturday on FOX.

The network announced on Monday that it would broadcast a Saturday doubleheader on Week 16 – Dec. 20 – with four NFC teams duking it out.

One game will feature a rematch of this past season's NFC championship game as the Philadelphia Eagles, who open their season on FOX against the Dallas Cowboys, will battle the Washington Commanders in Landover, Maryland.

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The other game will have the Chicago Bears hosting their longtime NFC North rival, the Green Bay Packers.

A one-hour gameshow will precede the doubleheader, the 11th by the network – a record. It's also the 31st window of games this season for FOX, the most in the league.

The Birds are coming off their second Lombardi Trophy in seven years in February when they stopped the Kansas City Chiefs from the first-ever three-peat in the Super Bowl. The Eagles defeated the Commanders, 55-23, en route to the big game in the NFC championship. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley each had three rushing touchdowns in the game.

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Both the Eagles and Commanders and the Packers and Bears split their regular-season series last year. The home team won both NFC East matchups, while the road team was victorious in the North battles.

The Packers' loss to the Bears last year came in Week 18, when it became apparent that the Packers were trying to play for seeding late in the game. But they lost, and then dropped their playoff game to the Eagles, which had been a rematch of the Week 1 contest in Brazil.

The season kicks off on Sept. 4.

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Where exactly Pope Leo XIV's sports loyalties reside has quickly evolved into a topic of conversation.

A photo of the new pontiff wearing a pinstripe Chicago White Sox jersey at the 2005 World Series surfaced in the Chicago Sun-Times, which seemed to add more fuel to the debate.

Elected on Thursday, Cardinal Robert Prevost is the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, also attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is one of the latest figures in the sports world to weigh in on the new pope. Williams needed just two words to express his apparent excitement: "Daaaaaa Pope," he wrote Thursday on X.

Williams experienced several highs and lows during his rookie season as the Bears stumbled to a 5-12 record. While it remains unclear whether the new pope is an avid Bears supporter, Chicago certainly has plenty of reasons to be hopeful in 2025.

The Bears hired Ben Johnson as their new head coach in January. The team then made a flurry of additions to its roster once the NFL free agency period opened last month. Chicago bolstered its offensive line by acquiring center Drew Dalman and guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson.

The election of the new pope also coincides with a trio of former Villanova players leading the New York Knicks on their NBA playoff run. It didn’t take long for a photoshopped picture of the four of them together to show up on social media.

The Knicks erased 20-point deficits in winning Games 1 and 2 against the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 3 set for Saturday in New York. The Knicks have not won an NBA title since 1973.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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• Consumer confidence levels may be dropping, but consumer spending doesn't reflect it.
• That's according to Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach, speaking at Semafor's World Economy Summit.
• "The consumer today is an empowered consumer that will still stick to what they want to do," he said.

Consumer confidence has taken a hit amid economic uncertainty, but you wouldn't know it based on current consumer spending figures at one major credit card.

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said spending hasn't noticeably changed yet in spite of growing anxieties about shifting tariffs, a possible recession, and the weakening dollar.

"The consumer today is an empowered consumer that will still stick to what they want to do," Miebach said at Semafor's 2025 World Economy Summit on Wednesday. "They still want to make that trip."

Miebach said that while "soft data" like headlines and consumer confidence studies would suggest a pullback in consumer spending, there is currently no evidence of that in the real-time spending information that Mastercard monitors.

"The hard data is not reflecting yet where the consumer is," he said.

In March, for example, Miebach noted there'd been a 1.4% increase in consumer spending, which he said was "nothing out of the ordinary."

"It's the most asked question that I get and then when I say what I just said. People say there must be something more," he said. "But right now there is not."

Consumer confidence registered at 92.9 in March, dropping to its lowest level since 2021, according to the Conference Board's latest survey. Wall Street is keeping a watchful eye on consumer sentiment, as a weaker outlook on spending could put a dent in corporate earnings and impact the stock market.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve "Mongo" McMichael has died after battling ALS at the age of 67, the NFL announced.

McMichael's wife, Misty, told FOX 32 Chicago earlier Wednesday that her husband had been admitted into hospice care after being "unresponsive for the last two weeks."

McMichael had been in and out of the hospital last year after developing infections, including MRSA and a UTI.

The former edge rusher was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, but was unable to travel to Canton due to complications of the disease.

McMichael spent the majority of his standout career in Chicago and helped lead the franchise to the Super Bowl title during the 1985 season. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to five All-Pro teams.

He finished his Bears career with 92.5 sacks.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.

• Build-A-Bear shares are up by a third over the past 12 months, valuing the company at almost $500 million.
• CEO Sharon Price John credits nostalgia and targeted marketing for its sales growth.
• Gen Z and millennials are big drivers of plushie sales, embracing toys for joy and self-expression.

Build-A-Bear's CEO was always drawn to the toy industry, something she credits to her "inner child."

After getting her MBA from Columbia University, Sharon Price John took a job at Mattel in 1994. Then, she moved to Hasbro. Now, she's the boss of one of the biggest plushie sellers, Build-A-Bear Workshop, which is worth almost $500 million after its stock soared by 35% over the past 12 months.

"Barbie was one of my favorite toys when I was a kid," Price John told Business Insider. "Barbie and plush. Those were the things that I played with a lot. And so my journey, it's almost poetic. When people look at it, they think I planned it — but I didn't."

In her three decades in the toy world, Price John has witnessed many trends such as the rise of the "kidult" market.

Plushies are hot right now, particularly among Gen Zers and millennials.

Mintel's Traditional Toys and Games report, published in October, found that stuffed toy sales have been growing among young adults. Brian Benway, the author of the report, previously told BI this is in part because social media communities are more open about sharing their interests.

"A lot of people are taking the approach that, well, I don't care if other people think this is dumb, this brings me a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy, so I'm going to keep doing it," he said.

Build-A-Bear has capitalized on this by collaborating with some millennial favorites, including Harry Potter, Pokémon, and Hello Kitty. They also license "with everything from "Deadpool" to "The Matrix" to "Ted Lasso,"" Price John said.

"When you put Build-A-Bear together with a Harry Potter, which came out the same year Build-A-Bear did in 1997, that's explosive," she said. "You get to pick which house you're in by which scarf he wears."

Revenues rose 2.1% to $496.4 million for the year to February 1, while pre-tax income increased 1.2% to $67.1 million. Build-A-Bear has almost 600 locations globally.

For its 25th anniversary in 2022, the campaign leaned into nostalgia and reminded older consumers why they loved their plushies in the first place.

"The entire campaign was focused on what was special about Build-A-Bear and to come back to Build-A-Bear and celebrate those memories," Price John said. "At the time, less than 20% of our total sales were teens and adults. Now it's 40% of our sales."

Targeted marketing helped too, because it's much easier to find micro-communities now through social media.

"That's where all of that sort of these subsets have emerged, and it makes it much much more efficient to communicate with like-minded groups," Price John said. "That would have been really difficult for toy companies a long time ago had, who would have had to waste much waste trying to find the Harry Potter Build-A-Bear overlap."

Price John has never thrown away any of her own stuffed animals or Barbies. She said we release endorphins when we relive those fond memories of childhood.

"We place extraordinary meaning in them," she said. "There are things that you look at, and the feeling that that evokes is really good."

It's particularly strong for people who rediscover their old toys in adulthood. Children love their plushies, and then they become tweens and forget about them for a while. Maybe they are a little embarrassed and think of them as childish, and don't want to play with them in front of their peers.

Childhood development

Once that awkward phase is over, Price John said, people realize how much the toys they played with helped form their identity.

"Nurture toys teach you how to be a caring, giving person. There are role-play toys that teach you that you're practicing being an adult. There are building toys that teach you how things work together," she said. "All of that is an important part of childhood development."

Price John always saw the value of toys. When her business school counterparts were getting signing-on bonuses to join top management and consulting firms equal to her annual Mattel salary, they couldn't understand her thinking. "They made fun of me. They don't anymore."

Missouri State football player Todric McGree died Saturday from what police said may have been an accidental self-inflicted gunshot.

The incident occurred Friday at his home, and his body was found after Springfield, Missouri, police responded to the home for a wellness check.

He died the next morning at the age of 21.

"As I sit back and reflect on the last 24 hours, the thoughts of Todric's infectious smile and competitive spirit are the things I see the most," head coach Ryan Beard wrote in an X post. 

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"There is no greater honor than to be called a coach and it is something that we do not take lightly. You watch young people become men right in front of your eyes and they become a part of who you are. You love these guys like your own sons. On behalf of the MoState Football Family, we send our deepest condolences to Todric's family. We pray they find peace and know that Todric will forever be in our hearts."

"Our football family is in shock and in mourning at the loss of Todric," Beard said in another statement, via ESPN. "We ask everyone to please respect the privacy of his family and our MoState football team at this time as we begin the healing process. Join us in praying for Todric and the people who loved him."

Added athletic director Patrick Ransdell, "This tragedy has shaken our football program to the core, and we want them to know we are here to support them in every way possible at this extremely difficult time."

McGee was a starting safety for the program each of the last two seasons and was about to enter his fifth year with the program.

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