NFL legend Mike Ditka didn’t mince his words.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, the player and later coach answered the question if he’d be okay with protests during the national anthem in the X League of which he’s slated to be the chairman.
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“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country,” Ditka said to TMZ. “That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old fashioned, so I’m only going to say what I feel.”
Despite others saying that protests during the anthem are not against the military, the two-time coach of the year elaborated further.
“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,” Ditka says. “So, I don’t want to hear all the crap.”
In the X League, a women’s tackle football league, Ditka told TMZ that he does not have the final say about what its national anthem policy will be.