Mike Ditka’s son charged with DUI, says he was targeted because of name

It was a great moment in sports when, having just beaten the 49ers in the playoffs in 1986, Mike Ditka was arrested for DWI. Now Ditka’s son, Michael P. Ditka, is in a bit of trouble of his own involving drinking and driving. Although the younger Ditka says he wasn’t drunk, wasn’t driving, and the 49ers had not been involved.

In fact, Ditka the Son says the cops would not have arrested him had his name not been Ditka. Or Dyczko, which is his father’s real name.

“I was not driving a car,” said Ditka, 49. “I was parked. The keys weren’t even in the ignition. I plan on pleading not guilty.”

He also claimed police unfairly targeted him because of his famous name.

“If my name was Joe Smith, this would not have happened,” Ditka said.

Joe Smith would disagree.

Another person in Ditka’s car told Deerfield police that Ditka had been driving after being stopped in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Police said Ditka had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and had trouble completing a field sobriety test.

A preliminary breath test allegedly indicated that Ditka’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.189 percent. The legal limit in Illinois is .08 percent.

Da Bears.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Ditka, who runs Ditka Apparel Group with his father, said he hasn’t told his father about the incident. He said he’d just come back Tuesday night after a vacation with his father.

“This will create a lot of bad PR,” Ditka said. “My dad does not need it. I don’t want to create a problem for him. People are now going to ask him a million questions.”

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Mike Ditka’s son claims his name spurred DUI charge [TribLocal]
Son of former Bears coach Mike Ditka charged with DUI [Chicago Sun-Times]