Ditka Seeking a Trimmer ‘Refrigerator’

Bears Coach Mike Ditka says he’s shopping for a new, trimmer model of refrigerator next season and won’t settle for anything more.

“He’ll weigh 300 pounds or he will not put on a Bear uniform,” Ditka said Wednesday of his defensive tackle, William (Refrigerator) Perry, who has struggled with his weight the last few seasons.

“He knows that and we know that,” Ditka said. “It’s all been agreed to, so everything’s on target.”

This is not the first ultimatum Perry has received from the team. He’s been fined, sent to an eating-disorder center, taken off defense and told that his wife was feeding him the wrong foods. The team has even tried leaving him alone to work his problems out by himself--but so far, no luck.

“This is not a funny matter,” Ditka said during a taping of a WBBM-TV show. “A lot of people have criticized me for taking the stance I’ve taken with William. I believe in William Perry.”

But Perry, who has never weighed as little as 300 pounds while in a Bear uniform, has a lot to lose--about 60 pounds in fact. Not an easy matter, especially since he’s recuperating from arthroscopic knee surgery last week and surgery to remove a metal plate from one of his arms.