Though it would take one heck of a story to top Bobby Petrino weaseling out of Atlanta, Pro Football Talk’s not-even-slightly disguised accusations leveled at Da Coach come pretty close. Days after USA Today raised questions about Mike Ditka’s Hall Of Fame Assistance Fund, PFT seems equal parts amused/intrigued by Ditka’s sudden decision to shut the charity down.
It’s surprising to us that Ditka would respond to a single article that criticizes the fund by folding up the tent and going home. The speed of the move makes us wonder whether Ditka feared further examination of issues like, for example, what if anything of value he personally received from the Chicago firm that charged $280,000 to organize three golf tournaments.
Though we’re not saying (or implying) that Ditka did anything wrong, it’s our opinion that it wouldn’t be a stretch for a direct, no-nonsense guy like Ditka to fail to appreciate the potential problems that could arise by receiving, for example, free travel or expensive gifts or rounds of golf or Cuban cigars from the firm that is generating a significant amount of revenue from its work for Ditka’s fund.