Mike Ditka Comments on Rams Players Making 'Hands Up' Gesture and Ferguson Riots

Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka has never been shy about expressing his opinions. Ditka's latest comments come in the form of criticism directed at the five St. Louis Rams players who made the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture prior to last Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders in honor of slain teen Michael Brown.

In a Q&A feature with Dan Cahill of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ditka said he was "embarrassed" for the players and offered his take on the rioting that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, where Brown was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson:

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It's a shame this thing has come to this. The shame of it is, I'm not sure they care about Michael Brown or anything else. This was a reason to protest and to go out and loot. Is this the way to celebrate the memory of Michael Brown? Is this an excuse to be lawless? Somebody has to tell me that. I don't understand it. I understand what the Rams' take on this was. I'm embarrassed for the players more than anything. They want to take a political stand on this? Well, there are a lot of other things that have happened in our society that people have not stood up and disagreed about.

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Rams wide receivers Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt and tight end Jared Cook were shown on a CBS pregame telecast leading the team out of the tunnel with the gesture. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose has become synonymous with Ferguson protests that have been ongoing since Brown's death. 

"Violence should stop. There's a lot of violence going on here in St. Louis. We definitely hear about it all, and we just want it to stop," Bailey told reporters.

The St. Louis Police Officers Association released a statement Monday criticizing the players, saying the organization was "disappointed" and demanding a public apology. 

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

None of the players involved have been or will be punished. The Rams were in contact with St. Louis police, but executive vice president Kevin Demoff told Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he did not apologize on behalf of the team. Demoff said he "regretted any offense their officers may have taken" but supported the First Amendment right of the players.

Dikta, who has no connection to the Rams organization and said he has not been to Ferguson, implied he did not want the power of police forces limited. He also said Wilson's life is "ruined" as a result of the uproar: 

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What do you do if someone pulls a gun on you or is robbing a store and you stop them? I don’t want to hear about this hands-up crap. That’s not what happened. I don’t know exactly what did happen, but I know that’s not what happened. This policeman’s life is ruined. Why? Because we have to break somebody down. Because we have to even out the game. I don’t know. I don’t get it. Maybe I’m just old fashioned.

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Dikta, 75, currently serves as an analyst for ESPN NFL programming.

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