Ditka's charity flawed, but not his cause
Nothing Mike Ditka immerses himself in is ever simple it seems. He was controversial when he coached the Bears (think gum-thrown-at-fan incident) and he remains controversial in retirement.
There was nothing to question when he coached our beloved Bears to a Super Bowl Championship in 1986, but there was plenty of verbal tackling when Ditka began drawing attention to a lack of financial support for retired, disabled pro players about a year ago.
Ditka traded heated rhetoric with some of his own former '85 Bears as he argued it was a disgrace the NFL Players Association wasn't taking care of its retired members' health. And in so doing he opened himself up to scrutiny which revealed cause for concern.
USA Today reported a few weeks ago that Ditka's Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund collected $1.3 million since it was formed in 2004, but cleared about $315,000 after expenses and only gave $57,000 to help former players. That's a lot of expenses and administrative costs. And sadly, it's a problem with many charities that should be checked out before people contribute.
But credit Ditka with acting decisively. Stung by the report and still defensive about it and his status as a "sitting duck," Ditka still announced last week he was dissolving the fund, even while saying it actually disbursed $159,000 to players.
This is a tale with many lessons.
It's a shame Ditka believed he needed to dissolve the fund some say he really had little to do with. It would be a greater shame if other prominent citizens like him who try to do good charitable work follow suit by disbanding their charities or avoid starting them in the first place.
Still, it is a good thing Ditka is donating part of this fund's proceeds to another long-time favorite cause of his, Misericordia, a home for developmentally disabled youth in Chicago, as well as to another charity that will continue to try to help injured and disabled older players, the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.
The NFL Players Association disputes that it has refused to award disability benefits to former players, while acknowledging, after Ditka's rabble rousing, that its disability benefit system has never been "perfect."
Spokesman Carl Francis said last week the union is proud of a new, $17 million program to fund free or low-cost joint replacements for former players.
That is a start, but it is hard to make a case that enough is being done after you read or see stories about former players who are severely disabled with some even spiraling to homelessness as a result.
Most of us enjoy watching gridiron greats and the lasting legacy for Ditka remains that he used his stature to focus us all on a terrible problem. As Ditka announced he was disbanding his foundation, Kansas City Chiefs' player Kyle Turley and Minnesota Vikings' player Matt Birk pledged $25,000 each to the charity that will continue to help disabled retirees.
It's past time for all the other current players, coaches, owners and managers to join them. Let's go McCaskeys, Lovie Smith, Brian Urlacher, and many others. Bear down, stand up and take care of those who came before you.