Tony Dungy found himself in the headlines on Monday after an interview with Tampa Tribune included the following quote from Dungy in regards to whether he’d have drafted Michael Sam:
“I wouldn’t have taken him,” said former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy, now an analyst for NBC. “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.”
The quote was not particularly surprising as Dungy has been a noted opponent of gay marriage in the past and he’s been on record as saying that he doesn’t agree with the “lifestyle” of gay athletes.
However, after landing in hot water for his remarks in regards to whether he’d have drafted Michael Sam, Tony Dungy issued a statement where he tried to absolve himself from any notion that he didn’t think Michael Sam had a place in the NFL due to his sexuality. And like so many before him who have received public backlash for saying something dumb to the press, Dungy blamed the media for everything:
On Monday afternoon while on vacation with my family, I was quite surprised to read excerpts from an interview I gave several weeks ago related to this year’s NFL Draft, and I feel compelled to clarify those remarks.
I was asked whether I would have drafted Michael Sam and I answered that would not have drafted him. I gave my honest answer, which is that I felt drafting him would bring much distraction to the team. At the time of my interview, the Oprah Winfrey reality show that was going to chronicle Michael’s first season had been announced.
I was not asked whether or not Michael Sam deserves an opportunity to play in the NFL. He absolutely does.
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.
At least Tony Dungy kind of admitted that he wouldn’t be a good enough coach to handle the sort of media attention that could come with drafting Michael Sam. Still, Dungy stood by his words that he would not have drafted Michael Sam because of media “distractions” all the while also stating that he didn’t think that Sam would be a “distraction to his teammates or his organization”. If that seems contradictory, well, that’s probably because it is. However, considering Dungy’s past this sort of double-talk is depressingly predictable at this point.
