Ditka Has Growl for Ex-Bear

Latest dispatches from the Otis Wilson-Mike Ditka front:

The Chicago Bears’ coach, whose team faces the Raiders in an exhibition Saturday, said he is taking the high road and never discusses his ex-players . . . but staged a five-minute detour when told that Wilson had said his Bears are not the dominating team they used to be.

Replied Ditka Thursday, coming up only a few times for air:

“Well, nobody ever gave him a Phi Beta Kappa award, did they?

“I wouldn’t worry too much about what Otis observed. He better observe trying to make the football team.

“If they want to sling shots, we’ll sling shots. I’ll put my record up against anybody’s, including his.

“When you have people who become disgruntled and take cheap shots after the fact, it’s kind of interesting.

“But consider the source. In everything in life, if you understand the source, you should have no problems. And that’s why I have no problems with it, because the source is absolutely nothing.

“He was a good player at one time. He was a very good player and he helped us win a lot of football games, but that had gone by him. Physically, he wasn’t capable of doing what we wanted him to do, so we made a change, that’s all.”

And Wilson’s assertion that Ditka had long ago told him he intended to get rid of him as soon as possible?

“If he said that--it finally happened, didn’t it?” Ditka said. “We ought to put it to rest.

“The things is, fellas, you’re trying to make something controversial. It’s kind of silly. We’re happy. We haven’t talked about any of them (departed Bears). Evidently, they must not be too happy because they’re talking about us. I don’t understand it, myself. If they were happy, then this is the opportunity they wanted and they’re at the place they wanted to be. They ought to keep their mouths shut and play football.

“In my case, I’ve never said a word because it doesn’t bother us.

“You don’t want to believe everything a disgruntled football player says. C’mon.

“And I’m not going to be the guy who sits here and gives you something to write about.”

Darn.

Wilson, re-enlisted to discuss Ditka, said he couldn’t understand what the fuss was about.

“Well, they’re not a dominating team anymore,” he said. “I would say the guys who were considered dominating, all of ‘em, are gone.

“They have, what, Richard (Dent), (Dan) Hampton, (Mike) Singletary left?

“The rest of ‘em were on the bench when we were there.”