--- title: NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka Would Not Let His Son Play Football description: The 1985 Bears are on the short-list for ‘greatest NFL team of all-time,’ but former players and coaches say the team is a cautionary tale. canonical: https://time.com/3673997/nfl-painkillers-mike-ditka-1985-chicago-bears/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-20T09:41:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:41:50.859Z article:section: Sports og:title: Mike Ditka Would Not Let His Son Play Football og:description: 1985 Bears heavily used painkillers to play through injuries. og:url: https://time.com/3673997/nfl-painkillers-mike-ditka-1985-chicago-bears/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61df814c08280ee6/69877aba35ba6f4d53c06989/460780360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 460780360 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mike Ditka Would Not Let His Son Play Football twitter:description: 1985 Bears heavily used painkillers to play through injuries. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61df814c08280ee6/69877aba35ba6f4d53c06989/460780360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka Wouldn't Let His Son Play Football Today by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Jan 20, 2015 9:41 AM CUT  Former head coach and tight end Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears stands on the field during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago on Dec. 15, 2014 Former head coach and tight end Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears stands on the field during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago on Dec. 15, 2014Brian D. Kersey—Getty Images by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Jan 20, 2015 9:41 AM CUT Mike Ditka, the head coach of the Super Bowl–winning 1985 Chicago Bears team, [says](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-1985-bears-pain-killers-real-sports-20150117-story.html "undefined") that if he had a young son today he would not let him play football. “That’s sad. I wouldn’t. And my whole life was football. I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do,” Ditka told HBO’s _Real Sports_ with Bryant Gumbel, according to the Chicago _Tribune_. The episode, set to air Tuesday, features a report about the excessive use of painkillers and narcotics by players to overcome injuries and get back on the field. The report says that 30 years after Ditka’s “greatest NFL team of all-time,” many of his legendary players are dealing with serious debilitations as a consequence. \[[_Chicago Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-1985-bears-pain-killers-real-sports-20150117-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3673997/nfl-painkillers-mike-ditka-1985-chicago-bears/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3673997/nfl-painkillers-mike-ditka-1985-chicago-bears/"},"headline":"NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka Wouldn't Let His Son Play Football Today","datePublished":"2015-01-20T09:41:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:41:50.859Z","description":"Ditka admits that painkillers were \"plentiful\" in locker room","url":"https://time.com/3673997/nfl-painkillers-mike-ditka-1985-chicago-bears/","keywords":["Football","Sports topic","HBO","NFL","narcotics","painkillers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61df814c08280ee6/69877aba35ba6f4d53c06989/460780360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61df814c08280ee6/69877aba35ba6f4d53c06989/460780360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"460780360","caption":"Former head coach and tight end Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears stands on the field during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago on Dec. 15, 2014","creditText":"Brian D. 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