Former NFL coach and current NBC commentator Tony Dungy is in the news for saying that he wouldn’t have drafted Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL. 

From the Chicago Tribune:

In an interview with the Tampa Tribune published Sunday, the former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts said he would have passed on Sam.  “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,” Dungy said.

Dungy went on to say, “It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen.’’

Dungy did not say what, exactly, were the things he anticipated happening.

Dungy’s comments drew immediate ire online, with people calling him ignorant and offensive.

Read more at the Chicago Tribune

“… to not draft an openly gay player because someone…might…not handle it…is some kind of Jim Crow-era awful,” one Twitter commenter said.

“So it turns out Tony Dungy is a coward? Didn’t see that coming,” another commenter said.

Thoughts on Dungy’s comments?

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