Mike Ditka, the legendary professional soccer Hall of Fame coach, reiterated his position that athletes should not kneel during the national anthem. He called it a flag and country protest, and he would rather it not happen in his new X League, a women’s tackle soccer league.
Ditka: ‘Go to hell’ if you can’t show respect
Ditka, 80, was asked about kneeling during the national anthem, which is becoming more common as sports return from their pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get out of the country,” Ditka said in a video interview with TMZ Sports. “This is how I feel. Of course I am outdated. I’m just going to say how I feel. “
His comments are similar to the initials of New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who also hinted that those who kneel in protest of police brutality are not patriotic. He apologized twice separately after criticism.
Colin Kaepernick first knelt during the anthem to protest police brutality in 2016. It has again become a central issue after national protests following the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25.
Ditka has voiced her opposition to the measure since 2017, when she said on Westwood One’s pregame game Monday Night Football “There has been no oppression in the last 100 years that I know of.”
Ditka would not allow it in the new soccer league
Mike Ditka does not believe athletes should kneel during the national anthem, holding their position since 2017. (AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast)
Ditka is the president of the Extreme Football League, abbreviated as the X League, which plans to start in April 2021.
TMZ Sports asked if he would allow kneeling in his league, and said he would not if it was up to him.
“I think there is a way to protest and there is a way not to protest. You do not protest against the flag, and you do not protest against this country that has given you the opportunity to earn a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So I don’t want to hear all the crap. “
The league was originally founded as the Lingerie Football League and renamed Legends Football League in 2009. It has eight teams in Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Kansas City and Omaha.
Female athletes have been at the forefront of social justice reform in sports over the years. Minnesota Lynx took a position in 2016 before Kaepernick got down on her knees and the WNBA dedicated its 2020 season to Breonna Taylor and black women affected by police brutality.
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