Tony Dungy comments on Michael Sam

Here is what Dungy said (separate quotes).

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.

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Dungy backtracked somewhat (I assume the second quote came later):

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.

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Maybe Dungy should have said no comment. But IMO, what he said was really just what 31 other NFL teams thought.

Rather than engage Dungy's premise or simply write it off as his opinion, many in the media have chosen to attack Dungy, hinting at him being anti-homosexual, using his Christian faith as evidence. The article linked above even mentions the really good things Dungy has done as evidence against him. The premise being, that Dungy is willing to stick up for a dog killer, but not for a gay man.

First, I am kind of offended that we are making judgements about someone based on their religion. How can we say we are for progress if we engage in religious stereotypes? Second, why should it matter what his religious is? How can we prove that has anything to do with his conclusion?

Whether it is Mark Cuban or Tony Dungy, it concerns me that we can't have a two-sided civil discussion about race or sexual orientation without getting attacked by a mob shouting down discussion and going into character assassination mode. While the intentions are good, the bullying method is both ironic and hypocritical.

I can only criticize Dungy in two areas. The first is that saying 'no comment' would have been smarter, but I also think that if we as a society aren't able to have a common sense discussion about these topics without inviting a shitstorm, then such a thing is an issue unto itself.

The second is that his first quote, at least to me, implies locker room issues WILL happen. He probably should have said "there's a chance things could happen, and that's not a risk I would be comfortable with." He could have rounded the edges on that quote slightly.

I feel bad for Dungy. Pete Carroll was asked the same question earlier this year and gave the same answer, but it slipped under the radar with the media, and right now I'm betting Pete is really glad it did.

Dungy, IMO, was not back tracking but simply clarifying. I agree with him wholeheartedly. If Jadeveon Clowney were gay there might have been some teams not interested in drafting him but IMO he wouldn't have fallen to the 7th round. The issue is whether a team is ready to take the media storm for a marginal player and if he isn't worthy of the 53 man roster is the team ready to take the storm for cutting him. Mizzou proved there isn't an issue in the lockerroom.

In Seattle there is no doubt he wouldn't make this team. Jeffcoat would likely beat him out for a spot on the practice squad. In St. Louis it's going to be interesting to see if he makes the opening day roster. Does he dress for the games?

Some people in the media are trying to make the comparison to Jackie Robinson. That's crazy. Jackie was a great talent who immediately helped the Dodgers and was worth the "distractions". If a team isn't interested in taking in all the storm for a special teams player I completely understand. Earlier in the spring I suggested the Hawks should invite Sam to rookie camp. I was shocked that anyone would draft him. I'm pleased that a competitor has chosen to waste a draft choice on him.

He's seems like a LEO but of course Pete and John like their players talented and athletic and he is low on both. It doesn't mean he can't play somewhere but I totally understand what Dungy was saying and I KNOW it had nothing to do with bigotry.

I'll give Tony the benefit of the doubt on this one. Touchy subject for a lot of people. Too much of the media is just about stirring the pot just to get looks.

sutz":pbi2nhkw said:

I'll give Tony the benefit of the doubt on this one. Touchy subject for a lot of people. Too much of the media is just about stirring the pot just to get looks.

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I generally like Tony, but I think this goes with the territory when you go public with your religion and your religious beliefs.

His religious beliefs had nothing to do with it, Michael Sam is Tebow x500000.

The media attention is ridiculous for one man, its almost disgusting to see the attention. Happy for Sam, smiled and all that when he got drafted, but the media is detrimental to teams, all you gotta do is look at Hard Knock's and the teams they cover.

Throwdown":3sdl5g4j said:

His religious beliefs had nothing to do with it, Michael Sam is Tebow x500000.

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Not really. Not even really close. Im not even sure he is even with Tebow let alone Xwhatever. Did you see Tebows introduction presser? The part is Rams will keep thing buckled in where as Jets wanted it. Plus NY to St Louis. Not close.

Sorry if someone else mentioned it but its kind of crappy how this entire thing came about. The guy from Tampa was on radio here yesterday. He was interviewing him about Derrick Brooks and they took a break. It was during that break that he was asked about Sam. The guy said Dungy knew the recirder was on so he should have known it was on the record. Still kind of cheap.

Dungy said nothing wrong IMO. A lot of people are looking to jump on any comment to show they support Sam. I support him but some of this is getting pretty ridiculous

-The Glove-":3hfy6m8o said:

Dungy said nothing wrong IMO. A lot of people are looking to jump on any comment to show they support Sam. I support him but some of this is getting pretty ridiculous

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Thats how I'm seeing it, He said what 31 other teams felt.

It's a good thing Branch Rickey didn't feel the same way about Jackie Robinson.

The problem with the Tebow comparison is that Dungy already went on the record saying that he would love to have Tebow on his team. So he is fine with distractions, just not homosexual ones? It is well documented about his thoughts on gay marriage. I kinda think Tony Dungy just stepped in it here, and it isn't going to go away painlessly.

Smelly McUgly":2o5eelb9 said:

It's a good thing Branch Rickey didn't feel the same way about Jackie Robinson.

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Jackie Robinson was just the first openly black man in baseball. There were lots of black men in MLB before him, they just weren't open about their racial orientation.

As much progress as we have made as a species, it is so incredible that there are so many flaky people on this planet.

Take a look at Stern. He employs black men to try and win him a championship, then says all that.

Sam is gay ..BFD, just play football.

Tical21":38b5p7pj said:

The problem with the Tebow comparison is that Dungy already went on the record saying that he would love to have Tebow on his team. So he is fine with distractions, just not homosexual ones? It is well documented about his thoughts on gay marriage. I kinda think Tony Dungy just stepped in it here, and it isn't going to go away painlessly.

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Dungy also put his arm around Michael Vick and vouched for him. As if a convicted dog killer was zero distraction.

Largent80":2x26ckop said:

As much progress as we have made as a species, it is so incredible that there are so many flaky people on this planet.

Take a look at Stern. He employs black men to try and win him a championship, then says all that.

Sam is gay ..BFD, just play football.

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Sterling.

There are bigoted assholes in this world. Like Richie Incognito. But what Richie Incognito did, while extreme in nature, is something that occurs to a lesser extent in most NFL locker rooms. When "bully-gate" got out of control, the spiraling mess resulted in coaches getting fired. The GM lost his job too, and the head coach is now officially on thin ice. This is why coaches are afraid of having Sam on their team. Because there is a very decent chance that it 1 out of the other 52 guys could start issues out of their own homophobia or bigotry. It is not a comment on Sam, it is a comment on the other 52 guys.

This kind of thing wasn't an issue for Tebow or Vick, which makes the comparison hollow. Although it is true that even right now, Sam is a huge media distraction, which also is a point in Dungy's favor.

(I also don't think that Vick really counts as a media distraction. He was a damaged goods backup QB just fighting to get a tryout when Dungy reached out to him, his first year in Philly did not generate much press at all.)

Regardless, you can acknowledge this risk while still wanting to find a way for gay athletes to play in pro-sports. And that's what Dungy said. Dungy was very clear that he believes Sam deserves a chance to play. Dungy is one of the ultimate stand-up coaches. We should take him at his word. Nothing he said shows that he takes issue with Sam being an NFL player.

All he said is that he didn't feel comfortable with the risk, not because of Sam, but because the odds are decent that one of the other 52 players could start problems that spiral into a potential job-killing shitstorm. This is a view shared by pretty much everyone else running NFL teams, save Fisher and Snead. I say good for those guys, but we can't expect everyone else to be as ballsy as they were.

You could also construe, because of how Dungy phrased his remark, that it was a thinly veiled left handed dig at the guy asking the question, and media in general.

kearly":1r31mswj said:

There are bigoted assholes in this world. Like Richie Incognito. But what Richie Incognito did, while extreme in nature, is something that occurs to a lesser extent in most NFL locker rooms. When "bully-gate" got out of control, the spiraling mess resulted in coaches getting fired. The GM lost his job too, and the head coach is now officially on thin ice. This is why coaches are afraid of having Sam on their team. Because there is a very decent chance that it 1 out of the other 52 guys could start issues out of their own homophobia or bigotry. It is not a comment on Sam, it is a comment on the other 52 guys.

This kind of thing wasn't an issue for Tebow or Vick, which makes the comparison hollow. Although it is true that even right now, Sam is a huge media distraction, which also is a point in Dungy's favor.

(I also don't think that Vick really counts as a media distraction. He was a damaged goods backup QB just fighting to get a tryout when Dungy reached out to him, his first year in Philly did not generate much press at all.)

Regardless, you can acknowledge this risk while still wanting to find a way for gay athletes to play in pro-sports. And that's what Dungy said. Dungy was very clear that he believes Sam deserves a chance to play. Dungy is one of the ultimate stand-up coaches. We should take him at his word. Nothing he said shows that he takes issue with Sam being an NFL player.

All he said is that he didn't feel comfortable with the risk, not because of Sam, but because the odds are decent that one of the other 52 players could start problems that spiral into a potential job-killing shitstorm. This is a view shared by pretty much everyone else running NFL teams, save Fisher and Snead. I say good for those guys, but we can't expect everyone else to be as ballsy as they were.

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Dungy said distraction. Vick and Tebow were both distractions so I dont see how you can simply discount them. The Jets wanted a circus and they got it. Vicks spot on the depth chart didnt makr him less of a distraction and neither is Sams.

As far as jerks like Incognito goes, they do exist but that culture was allowed to exist and even promoted in Miami by the coaches.

Dungy has been outspoken about same sex marriage so its hard to simply lend benefit of the doubt in this particular situation just because he is a swell guy.

Do I think Dungy's person feelings might leak through here? Sure. But he isn't lying either. The media shitstorm that comes with this guy isn't worth it. Not because the shit storm isn't that bad, but because the player just isn't that good. Which is what Dungy didn't say.

By the time Vick was an animal rights protest waiting to happen, everybody knew he could tilt the field. The Jets have a stupid owner who wanted his team on TV, He craved the shitstorm, so that example is out the window, and like him or not, by that time Tebow had a playoff win under his belt, so there was a sliver of logic to taking on the media crush that comes with him.

And letting Vick or Tebow go from your team, even cutting them, does not get you called a bigot. Which is the real risk of drafting Sam. Cut him, and some media asshole somewhere is going to label you.

Sam is an athletically marginal player who I don't think would have been drafted at all if Roger didn't call in a favor from his rules committee buddy, Jeff Fisher. Because Roger didn't want the league called bigoted either, and after CNN called him a round 2 prospect, the label would have been applied.

Add to that, we find out Sam has been heaping on media attention too. A planned smooch with his partner when drafted, a reality show with Oprah...he wasn't deflecting attention, which was the wise course, he was creating more.


The sad reality is that Dungy should have known that no comment was a wiser thing to say, because people with non football interests in this particular player will rule the media spin.

Im not disputing Vick or Tebow or their circumstances. What I am pointing out is that Dungy publicly put his arm around Vick and was in contact with teams trying to help Vick find a home and he has said he would love to have Tebow on his team. Tebow asks for the attention as much as anyone. Taking his shirt off after practice, choosing NY over hometown Jags.

Tim Tebow was a far bigger distraction.