NFL Legend Mike Ditka Has An Absolutely Ice Cold Take On Kneeling During The National Anthem

Mike Ditka recently told TMZ Sports kneeling protests are unpatriotic, and if he had it his way, he wouldn’t allow them in his new women’s football league. The former Chicago Bears coach and NFL Hall of Famer went on to say “if you can’t respect the national anthem, get the hell out of the country.” Oof. Pretty cold take from the coach, but not a surprising one.

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Mike Ditka Against Anthem Kneeling In New Football League, Leave the Country! https://t.co/3KnlMzJAIG

— TMZ (@TMZ) July 26, 2020

Ditka is very respected by his peers and colleagues in the NFL circle. However, this is not the first time the man has missed the mark in terms of social injustice. Back in the year 2017, which is eons ago in 2020 time, Ditka said in response to NFL protests “there has been no oppression [in America] in the last 100 years that I know of.” We know he hasn’t been living under a rock, so there is really only one explanation for that kind of sentiment. It extends far behind racial prejudices and social injustices. Only a white man could earnestly say there has been no sort of oppression in this country in the past century. So many symptoms of the oppression that was made in America still exist today. Clearly not in the mind of former NFL coach Mike Ditka.

Come on Ditka, get real. Have you not been following your beloved NFL? Did you learn nothing from Drew Brees? Come on, man. How long is it going to take for everyone to understand that protesting the flag or the national anthem is not an act of anti-patriotism? Being an American does not mean the same thing to everyone. America was founded on the back of genocide and slave labor. It has never been the “land of the free” for anyone who doesn’t look like the men who founded it.

This is not a good look for a man who represents the NFL and who is trying to start his own women’s football league. Ditka defended his statement by saying “I’m old fashioned.” That is essentially the least progressive thing one can say. Nothing good ever follows that phrase. These are the type of men that represent and own the NFL. A league that is made up of predominantly African-American men. One way or another, the leadership in the NFL organization has to change. It’s time.

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