Dan Hampton Refuses White House Invitation to Celebrate '85 Bears

Dan Hampton, a former defensive tackle for the '85 Chicago Bears and part of the team that won the Super Bowl, said he won't attend an Oct. 7 White House event honoring the team.

It's my own personal choice, Hampton told The Mully and Hanley Show, on radio in Chicago earlier this week. I'm not a fan of the guy in the White House, and, hey, it was 25 years ago. Let it go.

President Barack Obama, a huge Bears fan, extended an invitation to the team to make up for traditional trip then-President Ronald Reagan canceled following the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger two days after the Bears won the Super Bowl.

The Hall of Famer was also upset that family members weren't invited. “No family, no kids. How do you go to the White House, and you tell your kids and your wife, ‘Oh, well, I’m sorry. You’re not invited.’ It doesn’t matter for you,' he said on the WSCR radio show.

Although Hampton will sit on the sidelines, Mike Ditka, coach of the '85 Bears, said he and the rest of the team will attend the White House ceremony.

“I’ll be happy to go. I’m excited to go, the Bears are excited to go,” Ditka told ESPN radio last week.

Hampton played 12 seasons in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears between 1979 to 1990. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.