Ditka, 85, has battled health issues over the last decade-plus, including a heart attack in 2018 that landed him in a hospital in Florida and a minor stroke in 2012.
The unfounded rumor that he had been entered into hospice apparently made its way around social media enough Monday that Jarrett Payton, son of the late Walter Payton, debunked it on X.
Later in the day, the Sun-Times posted its exclusive interview with Ditka. He told the publication he had arrived in Chicago a “few” days ago.