If Mike Ditka hadn’t already officially moved into the Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Donald Trump category of right win loons, then today was his official initiation. If Da Coach wasn’t already a member of the Screaming A. Smith, Skip Bayless category of sports pundits, those say things that no sensible person believes, likely themselves even, then he arrived there this morning.
Yes, Ditka is now in the “say anything and everything just to stay relevant” crowd.
On the charges against the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson and the topic of child abuse…
Mike Ditka: “A parent has a right and an obligation to discipline their child if it’s done in the right way. My dad whipped my butt. Did I deserve it? Yes. … I wouldn’t be here today if that hadn’t happened in my life. That was a great thing. I didn’t like it. I cried, but every time I got it … I became a better person for it. That’s all I can say.”
That’s ALL you can say? You have no sympathy for the four year old mercilessly beaten with a tree branch? You have nothing to say about Peterson and his lack of remorse for the “whoppin” (Peterson’s own words) that he put on his own child?
The Ditka quote above was sent out by ESPN PR today, and it’s a transcript of what Ditka said on ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown today.
Ditka used to be the Sarah Palin of sports. However, I think Ditka is putting on more of an act than Palin. I think Palin is dumb enough to actually believe her own misnomers and gobbledy-gook; while Ditka is just over-playing the role of a hard-liner. He’s presenting himself as a parody of his own extreme social conservatism.
Watch Ditka’s “contribution” here when Cris Carter rightfully takes Ray Lewis to task over his ethics. As expected, Lewis stumbles poorly.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN2.