Tony Dungy was open with his opinion that NFL teams should pass on drafting Michael Sam in the interest of avoiding a media circus. That take was in line with the NBC analyst’s public religious stances. And it was not appreciated by Jason Collins.
In an interview with USA Today, the first openly gay NBA player compared Dungy’s comments to those made by disgraced former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
“If you were to ask Tony Dungy if he feels like homophobia is in his level of thinking or if he’s homophobic, he’d say no,” Collins says. “Well, if you were to ask Donald Sterling if he sees how his comments are racist, he said no, too. Some people don’t recognize their own racism, homophobia. His awareness, and people like him, are the problem.”
Dungy declined comment when offered an opportunity to respond.
It is interesting that Dungy has avoided the type of public backlash that befell Sterling. He’s still on national television every fall Sunday, breaking down games.
So in that way, the comparison seems noteworthy. Fair or foul?
[H/T: USA Today]