Mike Ditka, 86, is a former Chicago Bears coach popularly known as ‘Da Coach’. He is also a Hall of Fame player who gained legendary NFL status for his contributions to the tight end position. However, recently, he fell prey to a hoax alleging that Ditka had passed away.
This claim appeared to originate on Facebook and was widely amplified on the social media platform by various unverified profiles.
“RIP Coach Ditka you exemplified what Chicago was..,” one person wrote on the Meta-owned social media platform.
A post was also put up on the Chicago Bears fan page group on the platform. Designed like an obituary photo, the image showed the coach in black and white with his birth year and the current year mentioned. “Sad Day. RIP MIKE,” the person sharing the post wrote.
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{{/usCountry}}The rumor was also shared by a profile going by Elegant Allure. With 22,000 followers, it claims to be a ‘fashion model’. This page had a post eight hours back saying “Sad news: Thirty minutes ago in Chicago, the family of Chicago Bears legend Mike Ditka, 86, unexpectedly announced that…Full story via in the comments below.”
However, there was no story posted in the comments below. The earliest instance of the rumor was likely on February 26. A page going by Monsters Of Midway posted “Sad news: Thirty minutes ago at the Bears, the family of Chicago Bears legend Mike Ditka, 86, unexpectedly announced that…”. The post then attaches a link to a site by top.topnewssource.com, which speaks about Ditka's health issues. However, this site does not appear to be an established news source, so the information must be treated with caution accordingly.
Such posts were subsequently shared online, likely giving rise to the rumor.
Debunking Mike Ditka death hoax
Despite the posts on social media, Mike Ditka appears to be alive and well. No mainstream outlet has reported on his death. There have also been no statements from his family or representatives, or the Chicago Bears. The NFL has not made any remarks on the matter as well.
People online also fact-checked those who were putting up misleading posts about Ditka's death. Most of the Chicago Bears fans rushed to fact-check the news. “Fake news,” one person said, while another urged the poster to ‘do better’.
“Leaving group too many false posts,” yet another person threatened. One even raised questions about what admins were doing, allowing such content to be posted without checks and moderations.
Many others corrected Monsters of Midway's post too. “Googled this & not true! Still Alive!,” a person wrote a day back. Another added “FAKE he's very much alive!”.
Ditka is believed to be in Chicago, where he moved back to in 2024, from Naples, Florida.