Former Missouri linebacker, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and openly gay human being Michael Sam was eventually drafted by the Rams, though it wasn't until the seventh round when St. Louis made history.
Had Super Bowl-winning coach, NBC analyst and noted conservative Tony Dungy been running the Rams, he "wouldn't have taken" Sam. Why? "Things will happen" apparently.
"I wouldn’t have taken him,’’ Dungy told the Tampa Bay Tribune. “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."
Dungy is allowed to have whatever stance he wants on sexuality. Religion, freedoms, belief systems, yada yada.
But this is a disappointing stance from the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl who dealt with racially-based backlash for he and his family at times. Dungy literally wrote (the foreward of) the book pushing for "Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL."
He was one of Michael Vick's biggest supporters when the former Falcons quarterback returned to the NFL from a stint in prison following his arrest for dogfighting. Vick commands headlines now; in 2009 he wasn't a distraction so much as fireworks coated in plutonium.
Dungy posted a video on his site "All-Pro Dad" encouraging Tim Tebow to be "patient" because the right situation would find him. Tim Tebow is a very nice and well-meaning person, but he is a walking, professional distraction.
There are many reasons for not drafting a player. But hearing "things will happen" from a pioneer of the NFL is a shame, regardless of where you stand on Michael Sam.
