Tony Dungy vs. Michael Sam

It seems the press is creating a feud better between former NFL coach and NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy and NFL player Michael Sam. Dungy made some comments that upset some people. His first thoughts on Sam were these:

"I wouldn't have taken him. Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it... It's not going to be totally smooth ... things will happen."

Sam then responded by saying, "Sam responded Tuesday, telling Nick Wagoner of ESPN: "Thank God (Dungy) wasn't the St. Louis Rams coach (laughs). I have a lot of respect for Coach Dungy. And like everyone in America, everyone is entitled to their own opinions."

Dungy then had this to say:

Quote

"I was not asked whether his sexual orientation should play a part in the evaluation process. It should not. I was not asked whether I would have a problem having Michael Sam on my team. I would not.

"I have been asked all of those questions several times in the last three months and have always answered them the same way — by saying that playing in the NFL is, and should be, about merit. The best players make the team, and everyone should get the opportunity to prove whether they're good enough to play. That's my opinion as a coach.

"But those were not the questions I was asked. What I was asked about was my philosophy of drafting, a philosophy that was developed over the years, which was to minimize distractions for my teams.

"I do not believe Michael's sexual orientation will be a distraction to his teammates or his organization. I do, however, believe that the media attention that comes with it will be a distraction. Unfortunately we are all seeing this play out now, and I feel badly that my remarks played a role in the distraction.

"I wish Michael Sam nothing but the best in his quest to become a star in the NFL and I am confident he will get the opportunity to show what he can do on the field. My sincere hope is that we will be able to focus on his play and not on his sexual orientation."

End Quote

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/tony-dungy-addresses-michael-sam-remarks-absolutely-deserves-play-nfl-article-1.1876183

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11248074/nfl-tony-dungy-comments-michael-sam-better-left-unsaid

Dungy is a religious zealot and a hypocrite.

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Here's the problem with Tony Dungy saying something like this. As a coach, he dealt with a number of (terrible) race-related biases directed towards he and his family. Using his own logic, teams shouldn't have hired him because "things would happen." He also relentlessly advocated on behalf of Michael Vick, who committed heinous crimes towards defenseless animals. Dungy encouraged teams to give a convicted felon a second chance, even though signing Vick would surely lead to "things happening." Dungy's hypocrisy in this case is glaring and depressing, but not surprising given the well documented history of homophobia in the NFL.