Hall of Famer, Mike Ditka, the man who reinvented the tight end position is calling for all kneeling athletes to leave the country. Ditka was very critical pf Colin Kaepernick and the others who started the movement and now that practically everyone is kneeling it has not improved his outlook on the situation. Ditka is one of the toughest players who ever played in the NFL and he still looks like he could take on a large building and win.
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.”
He can expect incoming from the left, but frankly I don’t think he gives a rat’s behind if he is attacked. He won two Super Bowls as a player, one with the Bears and one with the cowboys. He won one as an assistant coach with the cowboys and another one as head coach of the Bears.
At the MLB’s Opening Day earlier this week, the entire rosters of the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees knelt for a minute while they clutched a single, long black cloth that stretched behind the foul lines. The teams did then rise for the anthem.
When the NFL does return, stars like Adrian Peterson said they will “without a doubt” kneel during the anthem.
President Trump, another major critic of athletes who knelt back in 2016, said last week that he hope[d] to see all professional athletes standing for the anthem this year.