Politics & Government
Mike Check: Ditka Declines Donald Trump's Invite to GOP Convention (UPDATED)
Da Coach says he was surprised by the news Wednesday that he was asked to speak at the event later this month.
- UPDATED (10:41 p.m. Wednesday, June 29)
In a conference call orchestrated by Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump officially invited former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka to his party's national convention later this month in Cleveland.
Ditka, however, politely declined the invitation for now, according to Sneed.
Find out what's happening in Chicagofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
ORIGINAL STORY
With Republican lawmakers like Sen. Mark Kirk bailing on the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the campaign for the party's presumptive candidate Donald Trump is going to the sports world to when it comes finding guests and speakers with name recognition.
Find out what's happening in Chicagofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Chicago Bears legend Mike Ditka and former boxing champ, convicted rapist and cartoon star Mike Tyson have been asked to come to the convention by Trump's camp, according to Bloomberg Politics. Former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight and NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France also received invites, the report stated.
Ditka, however, told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday that while he'd be happy to speak at the convention, he hadn't been asked to do so:
"No one's ever talked to me about it. I have no idea where it's coming from."
Trump also went on Twitter on Wednesday to deny that Tyson had been invited to the convention:
Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I'm sure he would do a good job if he was. The media makes everything up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2016
Besides the sports connection and having glory days in the latter half of the 20th century, for the most part, Ditka, Tyson, Knight and France have all publiclly supported Trump in comments or at appearances.
In fact, some media reports say Ditka was removed from his role on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown earlier this year because of remarks he made on radio show, criticizing President Barack Obama and endorsing Trump (Ditka and ESPN deny that was the case):
"You know, you’ve got to pick your poison. Does Donald do everything right? No. The people that hate him, hate him, but people like him because he says things that resonate with what they think. … If I were to vote tomorrow, I’d probably vote for Trump.”
Trump's campaign isn't the only group recruiting star power for the convention, Bloomberg reports. Third-party organizations have hired musical acts, including the Beach Boys, Bret Michaels and Rick Springfield, which sounds like the GOP isn't concerned about attracting voters born after 1983.
Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
