NFL great Mike Ditka was blitzed by critics Tuesday after he declared in a radio interview that “there has been no oppression in the last 100 years that I know of.”

“All of a sudden, it’s become a big deal,” Ditka said on Westwood One’s Monday Night Football pregame show, in response to a question about players protesting social injustice by taking a knee during the national anthem. “Now maybe I’m not watching it as carefully as other people. I think the opportunity is there for everybody.”