Former Chicago Bears safety Charles “Peanut” Tillman says he left the FBI over a disagreement with President Trump’s immigration policies.
On a recent episode of ESPN host Ryan Clark’s podcast, The Pivot, Tillman said that his initial understanding was that the Bureau would be targeting illegal alien criminals and felons wanted for violent crimes.
However, he says that’s not what actually happened.
“Some of the things they’re doing I personally didn’t agree with, [such as] immigration,” Tillman said. “I didn’t agree with how the administration came in and tried to make individuals do things against their [beliefs]. . . . It didn’t sit right.
‘‘An example being immigration. Everybody was told, ‘You’re going to go after the most dangerous criminals.’ But what you see on TV and what actually was happening was, people weren’t going after that. Personally, that didn’t sit right with me; that didn’t sit right with my conscience. You have the ability to refuse an order.”
Tillman, 44, explained that the amount of money he made in the NFL gave him the flexibility to leave the FBI after eight years. He also emphasized that the directives governing immigration enforcement originated not from the Chicago field office, but from Washington, D.C.
‘‘I want to be on the right side of history when it’s all said and done,’’ he said.
Tillman grew up in an Army family and had considered a career in the military. Instead, he vowed to serve the public once his NFL career was over.
The former Bear played 12 of his 13 years in Chicago. During his long career, he accumulated 38 interceptions, three sacks, and 930 tackles.
