Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Dennis McKinnon has been making the rounds of the Chicago media circuit, and he recently said some very shocking things. McKinnon went on the McNeil and Parkins Show on 670 The Score to talk about his time with the Bears.
McKinnon was also promoting his new book, Chicago Bear #85 Silky D Bares All. In the book, McKinnon discusses several shocking topics, including the allegation that former Bears head coach Mike Ditka placed money on the Super Bowl he and the team won in 1985.
Dennis McKinnon Has Shocking Allegations About Mike Ditka
Getty26 Jan 1986: Defensive tackle William Perry #72 of the Chicago Bears dives in for a touchdown during Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots at the Superdome in New Orleans, Lousiana. The Bears won the game, 46-10.
According to McKinnon, Mike Ditka profited fiscally from his now-infamous decision to call a rushing play for William “The Refrigerator” Perry in Super Bowl XX, instead of giving the ball to legendary running back Walter Payton.
The hosts of the radio program literally laughed McKinnon off when he suggested this, and asked incredulously if he really believed that Ditka had won money on the play. McKinnon’s response was swift and shocking: “Absolutely. Well, I was there. I had the game plan…it was not in the offensive game plan to take Payton out and put him [Perry] in…I will tell you emphatically: Mike profited from taking Payton out and putting in Perry.”
The decision by Ditka to not get Payton into the end zone has been one of the most controversial decisions in the team’s 100 year history. According the ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary about the ’85 Bears, Payton was very upset about the play-calling in the Super Bowl.
In the documentary, Ditka says handing the ball off to Payton never entered his mind, which seems incredibly odd. Ditka also said that he truly regretted the decision to not give Payton the ball on the one yard line. Former Bears greats Richard Dent and Dan Hampton wondered aloud in the same documentary how Ditka could neglect to call a play at the goal line specifically for the greatest player in the team’s history.
McKinnon: Bears Franchise Doesn’t Take Equal Care of Former Players
McKinnon also expressed annoyance with the Bears as an organization for what he perceives to be a lack of care for its former players. He called the organization “cheap,” and said the way the ’85 Bears have been treated by the team has been embarrassing:
“You put us on the field like props waving white towels and then when you get us on the field, you put us in the end zone with drunk fans. How insulting is that?” McKinnon was referencing the first game of the season this year against the Green Bay Packers, in which members of the famed ’85 squad came out onto the field before the game to hype the crowd up.
McKinnon says there are “a select few guys” from the 1985 team that are taken care of by the Bears, but says the team has been lax in its efforts to respect every member of the legendary squad equally.
He also doesn’t think that the offensive side of the ’85 Bears gets enough credit, citing an excellent offensive line that helped the team lead the NFL in rushing four years in a row.
When asked what he would say to people who dismiss his accounts as sour grapes, he says:
“Please. What do I have to be sour about? I played, I had my time, I’m part of the greatest team ever. I’m healthy. I have a sound mind. Life is pretty good… I bleed orange and blue. But at the same time, judge us the way you judge players today.”
Neither Mike Ditka nor any other members of the ’85 Bears have commented on McKinnon’s accusations.
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