Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson apologized for his interaction with CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala which drew criticism for his aggressive reaction to a question.
Around halftime, Johnson spoke to Kinkhabwala when she began to ask him about the struggles his team was facing. She asked him, ‘Do you need to change what you’re doing?’
Johnson responded by staring straight at her and saying, ‘I don’t know. You think so? We’re going to be just fine.’
That stare lasted a few seconds longer than normal before he departed.
When reflecting upon that moment with reporters on Monday, Johnson said, ‘In the moment I honestly didn’t think too much of it, I’m kinda in game mode.
‘But then when I look back at it, I am a little bit disappointed in what that looks like. I didn’t hear very well, and that’s not an excuse, but when I thought I heard – not a question, but that I needed to make some changes – I didn’t take that very well.
Bears coach Ben Johnson apologized for his tense exchange with CBS’ Aditi Kinkhabwala
Johnson gave a tense interview to Kinkhabwala just after halftime of Bears vs Raiders
Johnson concluded his answer saying he would ‘do a better job with those going forward.’
Fans immediately picked up on Johnson’s gesture and said it gave them a bad feeling.
‘Absolutely immature by him. Aditi deserves better,’ one fan wrote on X, while another tagged Kinkhabwala in their reply and said: ‘He was completely out of line for that.’
A different viewer posted on X: ‘That Ben Johnson interview didn’t sit right with me.’
Joe Schad, who covers the Miami Dolphins for Palm Beach Post, posted: ‘I don’t like this one bit from Ben Johnson with the reporter Aditi.’
The announcers on CBS picked up on what they called a ‘menacing stare’ from Johnson and that he appeared to be ‘a little intimidating’ towards Kinkhabwala.
But whatever Johnson said to his team at the interval clearly had a huge impact. The Bears fought back to down the Raiders with a 25-24 victory.
Josh Blackwell blocked a 54-year-old field-goal attempt by Daniel Carlson in the final minute to make sure the day ended in victory for Johnson and his team.
Kinkhabwala spoke to Johnson moments before the third quarter started on Sunday
The Bears fought back from 14-9 down to beat the Raiders and move to 2-2 for the season
The win cemented a moment of history for the Chicago organization, too. The Bears became the second team to win 800 regular-season games, joining the Green Bay Packers, who had 812 going into Sunday night´s game at Dallas.
But NFL Analyst Chase Daniel, meanwhile, clearly thought nothing of Johnson’s moment of controversy.
He shared the divisive clip moments after the Bears won, saying: ‘And this is the moment where the Bears turned it around! Huge road win…Ben Johnson is changing the culture there.’
Johnson took over as Bears head coach during the offseason and after Sunday’s win his team are 2-2 following their Week 4 showdown.
They have a bye week next week, meaning they return to action on October 13 against Washington Commanders for Monday Night Football.
That game will be shown on ESPN, not CBS, so Johnson won’t have an immediate reunion with Kinkhabwala.
