All things offseason discussion part II

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

I think some of you guys are being absolutely ridiculous. Tony Dungy elaborates on his comments made on Monday:

Tony Dungy Elaborates on his remark about Michael Sam

"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."


And this was the comment I was about the make until I saw the statement. Some of you guys were very quick to judge Tony Dungy.

I read the same thing, it does not alter the fact that Dungy is saying "I wouldn't draft him b/c the distraction his sexual orientation causes." If Dungy became coach of the Rams tomorrow(hypothetically), would it be acceptable for him to cut Sam b/c Sam's sexual orientation "will be a distraction" due to the "the media attention that comes with it"?

I understand Dungy's statement and accept his sentiment. I do not believe he has any ill-will. ("Hey, gay people are some of my best friends"). However, it does not change the fact that he is ultimately making a roster decision about Sam (i.e. denying Sam the opportunity for employment) based on Sam's sexual orientation.