San Francisco 49ers

Mike Ditka lashes out against protests: 'I have no respect for Colin Kaepernick'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka is strongly opposed to national anthem protests and Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the song before games.

Ditka appeared on Dallas’s 105.3 The Fan and was asked about Kaepernick and his protest of racial injustice and police brutality.

“I think it’s a problem…anybody who disrespects this country and the flag” said Ditka. “If they don’t like the country they don’t like our flag…get the hell out.

“I have no respect for Colin Kaepernick – he probably has no respect for me, that’s his choice” Ditka added. “My choice is, I like this country, I respect our flag, and I don’t see all the atrocities going on in this country that people say are going on.”

He went on to note that “you can be anything you want to be if you work” in America.

Since Kaepernick chose to kneel during the preseason, players around the league have begun protests of their own and started to speak out about social issues, the police and unjust treatment of minorities in America.

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