Chicago Bears veteran guard Kyle Long was ejected from practice last week after he attacked teammate Jalen Dalton with a helmet.
Long also threw punches in the heated incident. He ended up not making the trip with Chicago to New Jersey for its preseason game against the New York Giants, per the team’s wishes.
On Tuesday, Long opened up about the incident, expressing regret over what he called an “unacceptable” course of action.
“Obviously what I did was absolutely unacceptable,” Long said after Tuesday’s practice,” per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. “As a human being, as a teammate, without question, what I did was uncalled for and absolutely so far over the line that it was on me to handle that internally and speak to the people that I needed to speak to. I’ve done that.”
The incident with Dalton was not Long’s first time fighting with members of his own team during practice.
Tuesday was Long’s first practice with the Bears since the incident, which shows just how seriously the ordeal was handled by team management. Going forward, Long knows he needs to make amends.
“The thing I need to continue to do is go out on a day-to-day basis and try to prove to the men in this locker room that don’t know me very well and who have some questions about my character, and just try to move forward and prove to them the man I am on a daily basis. It was wrong what I did and in a lapse of judgment, that’s where I ended up, and it reflected poorly on the organization, the city, the offensive line room and that was never my intention. Moving forward I intend to make amends.”
Long, 30, has been with the Bears since being selected 20th overall during the 2013 NFL Draft out of Oregon. He’s battled injuries for much of his tenure in Chicago but has started 72 games during the course of his six-year career, earning three Pro Bowl bids along the way.