Mike Ditka to kneeling athletes: 'Get the hell out of the country'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: For the win, USA Today

Hall of Fame football coach and former NFL broadcaster Mike Ditka spent much of the 2016 season voicing his opposition to Colin Kaepernick’s protest against racial injustice and police brutality.

And while George Floyd’s death in May sparked a nationwide movement against police brutality, the now-80-year-old hasn’t changed his perspective on the country’s systemic racism. In fact, he’s back to saying the same things he said in 2016 and 2017.

Speaking in an interview with TMZ Sports about his women’s football X League, Ditka was asked about the resurgence of peaceful protests from athletes during the national anthem — MLB, the WNBA, NWSL and MLS have all had players protesting during the anthem since restarting. Ditka said:

“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old fashioned. So, I’m only going to say what I feel … You don’t protest against the flag, and you don’t protest against this country who’s given you the opportunities to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So, I don’t want to hear all the crap.”

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/mike-ditka-to-kneeling-athletes-get-the-hell-out-of-the-country/ar-BB17dgv6?li=BBnb7Kz

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How about they kneel on your neck for eight minutes instead Ditka?

[dhill926]

1. ok....as a long suffering Bears fan, I'm gonna say what I feel...

fuck you. Find out what it's about, before you make more of a fool of yourself...

[Bigredhunk]

60. Indeed

Yup

[Kablooie]

2. Kneeling athletes to Mike Ditka: 'Get the hell out of the country!'

[onetexan]

30. K&R!!

[Moostache]

3. No shock there...

Ditka has been a massive joke since about 1990...30 years past his sell by date now and it shows.

He ran the 1987 Bears into the ground by taking management/ownership's side in that year's labor dispute, he was dead to me then and his rotted fucking corpse now inspires nothing but revulsion and disgust.

[rpannier]

21. He had success in the 80's because he had Mad Mac as his QB

McMahon just brushed off Ditka's tirades
He (Ditka) destroyed every other QB he had

[Progressive Jones]

53. A monkey could have coached the mid-80s BEARS.

Buddy Ryan, the defensive coordinator, and the players the BEARS had, were the reason for their success.
That's how damn near every BEARS fan in this town saw it. Ditka was a clown. He still is.

[rpannier]

55. That's true

Ditka never had another QB that performed well under him after McMahon
McMahon was a great QB. But one of his greatest strengths was his ability to brush off Ditka

[ProfessorGAC]

64. I'm Less Convinced About Ryan

I think a monkey could have coached that defense, too.
With that level of physical talent, and the smarts on defense, "everybody go get the quarterback" isn't brilliant. And, it only worked with that team, and a bit less well with Reggie White & Jerome Brown.
Hall of Fame talent can make any coach look better. And, when Ryan, or Ditka had different talent, how'd they do?
It.Was.The.Players.

[Progressive Jones]

65. Agreed. I wasn't granting Ryan sainthood. I just always laughed at the praise heaped on Ditka. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

66. Me, Too! (nt)

[jpak]

4. I always thought Ditka was an asshole

Now confirmed

[Zorro]

16. Worked with someone who met Ditka in a bar after their Superbowl win

He went up and complimented Ditka effusively for the win.

Said Ditka was an obnoxious asshole to him after hearing all the praise.

Sounds as if he's always been a POS.

[brush]

50. Buddy Ryan's "46 Defense" deserves much credit for the '85 Bears.

Even more than the offense. Ditka didn't have enough sense to give the ball to the great Walter Payton to score after he had gotten the ball almost to the goal line. He gave it to the Fridge on a gadget play. Payton was very hurt.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Senile ass

[Wellstone ruled]

19. Hmmm.

Just talked to the Guy who is God Parent of Ditka's Kids. When this thread first popped,had to call him and have him take a lookie.

As he says,Mike is so friggin broke and his Dementia is in latter stages that he has zero clue as to what day it is. BTW,he charges a fee for interviews and Personal Appearances.

[Beartracks]

6. He's willfully ignorant. They don't protest the FLAG or the COUNTRY.

It's just plain stupid to think that's what they're doing.

========

[CrispyQ]

7. Irony.

[Cha]

22. Yeah, they're Fucked UP. FUBARED!

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Mike Dyzcko can go the hell back to Ukraine.

[dalton99a]

29. +1

[amb123]

9. Well then. Fuck you Ditka and the Trump you rode in on!

Nobody is going to tell me what patriotism is or how to be patriotic.

[Beakybird]

10. He's got a chain of restaurants here in the Chicago metropolitan area.

I hope people remember these comments.

[lkinwi]

11. Never could stand the asswipe.

But I’m a packer fan who can’t stand Favre after his golf date yesterday either.

[LeftInTX]

12. He's still around?

[Penn Voter]

13. He's still the same blowhard

he always was. He was also an overrated coach.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

14. The motto of Republican millionaires: "I got mine, so fuck you!"

Given his attitude, Ditka should be grateful that he was born white and male. Otherwise he'd have to hate himself.

[aggiesal]

15. I'm a Bears fan, but I'm no Ditka fan, even when he was head coach in Chicago ...

Ditka was considering running for Senator of IL. as a (R) against Obama.
I think he's been hit is the head once too many times.

Our country was built on protesting, from the Boston Tea-Party to all the BLM protests to
the Stormtroopers protests to the kneeling of all the pro sports teams.

Let me explain it to you (Ditka) one more time.
They are not protesting the flag or the National Anthem.
They are protesting those that wear the flag, during the National Anthem.
It was an Army Veteran that advised Kaepernick to kneel instead of sitting on the bench.

Your problem is that you're a racist.

[slumcamper]

17. Ford's are not much better...but Ditka (ASSHOLE) makes me glad I'm a LIONS fan. n/t

[Chainfire]

18. Someone needs to send the football head

a copy of the Constitution.

[milestogo]

20. He's an old fool.

[SunSeeker]

23. Way to cement your legacy as an ignorant asshole, Ditka.

[Zephaniah]

24. This troglodyte is still alive???

What is he, 106 now?

[Tommymac]

25. I hope Pitt pulls his Heinz Field banner down

And ejects him from the school Hall of Fame.

He is an embarrassment to the University. I will be calling my contacts there tomorrow.

[MyOwnPeace]

44. Good point, Tommy.............

Mike is one of those that's always had it handed to him. Born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, he was a gifted athlete and had the world handed to him from high school and on. People worshiped his football skills and gave him whatever he wanted.
He went to Pitt and was an outstanding player and continued his great playing career in the NFL.
He later achieved great success as a coach by winning a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears.
He was loved and highly desired as a "football professional" and celebrity.
His celebrity status has him believing that anything and everything he says is gospel.
In his own mind - now apparently fading - he can do and say no wrong.

He is a prime example of someone who's fame has gone to his head, much like the current leader of our country.

[mzmolly]

26. I thought America represented freedom

according to his ilk? Huh.

[ancianita]

27. Fuck Ditka. No one cares what that shitty human thinks, anyway.

We're all gonna stay, and he's gonna get used to it.

[matt819]

28. You know what?

Sometimes you don’t have to say what you feel. Especially when you’re a dick. Then, it’s okay to shut the fuck up.

[NurseJackie]

31. What a hateful and toxic man.

[CaptYossarian]

32. No autopsy needed for this CTE case.

He's even forgotten the Black players that won for him in '85.

[mdbl]

33. I am sure he'll be Trump's next poster boy

maybe spewing some racist crap in support of Trump

[relayerbob]

34. Actually we like it here

If you can't respect the people of this country and hate equality so bad, why don't you get the hell out, Ditka? No one will even notice you're gone, much less miss you

[Grokenstein]

35. C'mon, y'all

He's old, and very used to yelling shit at black players. /s

[llashram]

36. last sentence of this OP

is correct

[Kitchari]

37. Ditka is a stupid man

And his remarks should be ignored

[patphil]

38. I didn't think that taking a knee made enough noise for someone to hear.

I guess some people have exceptionally sensitive ears...selectively sensitive ears.
And, willful blindness.

But then, we have Karens, so why not Mikes?

Oh! One more thing. We really do want to get the Hell out of our country; that is, remove all those hellacious acts being committed by all those hellacious people, of which Mike Dikta is most definitely associated.
So, Mike, get the HELL out of here and make this country a more heavenly place to live in.
Help make it a place where people can peacefully express themselves without having to hear from hellacious loudmouths like you.

The door's open Mike, you can leave whenever you want to.

[samsingh]

39. get out of our country Ditka you traitorous asshole

[PatSeg]

40. Well, at least he's consistent

He's always been a pompous jerk, some things never change.

[blakstoneranger]

41. THIS IS THE RESULT...

of listening ONLY to foxnews and conservative talk radio. He works and lives around black athletes and he doesn't understand that IT'S NOT A PROTEST AGAINST THE ANTHEM OR THE COUNTRY! Are you telling me that no one ever told him or is he so old he can't remember or is he putting on a show for trump!!

[Ferrets are Cool]

42. FUCK you Mikey

You are such a has-been. No, you aren't old fashioned. You are a bigot, a racist and a idiot.

[Sloumeau]

43. Mike Ditka is just a big a moron now as he was in 2016.

They aren't protesting against the flag. They aren't protesting against the country. They are protesting against innocent Black men being killed.

The only question is, "Why is MSN talking to this worthless idiot?"

[MLAA]

45. What a dick

[AllyCat]

46. So Ditka and Favre

Two has beens.

[duforsure]

58. You got that right!

Both losers.

[Ilsa]

47. Go eat a sausage, Ditka.

[Hassler]

48. The most generous interpretation--Ditka has Traumatic Brain Syndrome

The least generous, he's a racist douchebag.

[NoMoreRepugs]

49. Ditka means "Dick" in some lost language.

[bringthePaine]

51. please, may I have another serving of nearly-dead old white male irrelevance?...

[enki23]

52. Can't. No one is taking Americans anymore

.

[nwliberalkiwi]

54. His Support for Women's Football

The women's football league that he supports is very demeaning to women, check it out!!!

[roamer65]

56. Ditka.

[yuiyoshida]

57. That works for me.. ( "How about they kneel on your neck for eight minutes instead Ditka?")

I can not imagine the late 49er coach Bill Walsh saying such things nor could I imagine Raider Coach Jon Gruden saying the same thing... No wonder Ditka was made fun of, during Saturday Night Live.

[BlueStater]

59. Didn't realize this was North Korea, asshole.

Jingoistic shitheads like this make me want to kneel just out of spite.

[VA_Jill]

61. Ditka

can go back to HIS country. I believe that would be Poland? (If he wants to talk that way.)

[Xolodno]

62. Well....if he doesn't like it...

....he's always free to leave the country.

[ProfessorGAC]

63. STFU Mike

What a dolt!
Went to Pitt back in the days when star athletes taking basket weaving was a real thing.
He's the evidence.

[Maxheader]

67. (Laugh!)...Get it Mike! Get it!...

Single dimensional...Woods are full of them here in the midwest...

And they used to be kinda funny...Until their lack of wisdom started

to be reflected in their voting preferences...

[NurseJackie]

68. I don't understand flag-worshipers and anthem-worshipers. They act as if...

I don't understand flag-worshipers and anthem-worshipers. They act as if the flag is a holy relic and that the pledge and anthem are some sort spiritual incantation with magical powers.

[Buckeyeblue]

69. New bumper sticker: If you don't support BLM, move to Russia!

[Maeve]

70. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt

Who cares what you think, anyway?