Mike Ditka Turns Down Donald Trump Invitation to Speak at RNC

Mike Chiari@mikechiariFeatured ColumnistJune 30, 2016

Former NFL player and coach Mike Ditka arrives at the 5th annual NFL Honors at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, in San Francisco. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for NFL/AP Images)
Jordan Strauss/Associated Press

Hall of Fame head coach and tight end Mike Ditka is backing Donald Trump's run for the White House, but the ESPN analyst has declined an invitation to speak at the Republican National Convention in July.

According to Kim Janssen of the Chicago Tribune, the 76-year-old three-time Super Bowl champion doesn't believe giving a speech would do much to aid the presumptive GOP presidential nominee:

I can help him, but I don't know if I can give a speech at the convention. I don't travel much anymore except between Chicago and Florida, and giving a speech at a convention isn't really my style. ... I spoke with Mr. Trump this afternoon, and he invited me. But I don't think I'm going to go.

Still, Ditka made it clear Wednesday he believes in Trump and his candidacy for president:

The Republican Party has its head up its ass — if he’s the candidate, you've got to get behind him. It does the party no good. They're a bunch of assh---s. ... If you want good things to happen you can vote for him, and if you don't, you don't. But don't bitch about it after the fact.

Ditka isn't new to the political realm, as he considered running for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois against Barack Obama in 2004 before deciding against it.

While it has been 31 years since Ditka coached the 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship in dominant fashion, he remains an iconic figure in sports. He last coached in 1999 with the New Orleans Saints.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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