Mike Ditka is a legendary head coach who won a championship with the Chicago Bears back in the 80s. Over the last few decades, Ditka has been a vocal analyst who always says what's on his mind, even if what he says isn't exactly regarded as popular opinion. Simply put, Ditka doesn't really care who he offends in the process.
With that being said, Ditka is about to be the chairman of a new tackle football league for women called the X League. To promote the league, Ditka appeared on TMZ Sports and gave his unfiltered thoughts on kneeling for the National Anthem. When asked if his players would be allowed to do it, he gave an emphatic "no" and urged those wanting to protest to leave the country.
"If you can't respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country," Ditka said. "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."
Ditka's take on this shouldn't be all that surprising when you consider many of his past opinions, although it's still peculiar to see him promote his new league in such a manner.
[Via]
