Tony Dungy woudn't want to "deal with" Michael Sam

And Robinson was also hand-picked to be the first. Branch Rickey chose him not only because of his talent, but because he was young, was a college graduate, was a military veteran, was in a stable marriage and had the right temperament to take the heat and not fight back. Among others, Robinson wasn't as good a player as Satchel Paige (who was too old and was considered a clown) or Josh Gibson (who was known to run around with white women).

There can be no debate that Robinson WAS the first black MLB player of the modern era. Sam isn't the first gay NFL player; he's just the first openly gay player.

You can't hide being black the way you can hide being gay. Revealing their sexuality has to be that person's choice.

That's why a lot of people had hoped the first openly gay player would be a superstar about whose talent there could be no debate.

 

So, why is a person proven to be occasionally electric yet tremendously erratic, inaccurate, less-than-intelligent, and chronically prone to turnovers and injury, with a felony conviction and three years in prison, worth the "distraction" and a 21-year-old gay guy who had success with a big-time college team not worth it?

 

Completely agree. You would be amazed about what pisses coaches off. I covered a coach who had a star player take two days off from practice to be with his wife as she gave birth and the coach made a comment about the player (a workhorse) milking it by taking two days, instead of one.

Later in the season, the player said, "Yeah, he's been pissed at me since I took two days off."

I'm glad it was Dungy who made the Sam comments. I would bet a pretty high number of coaches agree with Dungy, but Dungy is so beloved that a lot of people are less willing to rip him over his comments than if Ditka or Cowher made the same comment.

He's still getting ripped, but I think it would be at a whole different level if another coach or former coach said the same thing.

 

Maybe it did, but in the end what he said was, basically, the gay thing would be a distraction. Sure, if Sam were Clowney, it would be much less of one, in Dungy's eyes. Every coach at every level weighs the "distraction" level against a player's ability -- the better you are, the less distracting your distractions are.

Dungy could have simply said, I don't think he's a very good player, so I wouldn't have taken him, and I don't think anybody things the less of it. Especially with Dungy have had a history scouting and using undersized D-lineman -- he knows what works. But Dungy made it about Sam being gay. In this case, it's Dungy who is the distraction.

 

But you're talking about a player who, sexual preference aside, is a tweener. It would be a lot different if the player in question was a much higher pick.

 

Again -- Dungy did not say Sam was a tweener, or that he wasn't good enough. Here is the quote:

"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.''

Tony Dungy would not take Michael Sam because he doesn't want to deal with the gay thing, and whatever might come with it. It has nothing to do with Sam's ability, or lack thereof. He didn't say, "I wouldn't have taken him, because I believe he's too small to be a defensive lineman, and too slow to play linebacker." Or, "the way I run my 4-3, I would want a defensive end who is a lot faster, like Freeney and Mathis." Dungy said it's not going to be smooth... things will happen. Things, apparently, Dungy doesn't want to deal with.

 

I can see why a coach might voice concern about distraction.

But if I'm an owner or a GM, I'm not too concerned about "distraction." I'd look at it as "exposure," aka "free publicity," aka "breaking through the fog of the public consciousness."

We're talking about sports -- entertainment! -- not curing cancer.

 

But, the comment is about a seventh-round pick. The only players taken in the sixth or seventh round who aren't usually considered "tweeners" are specialists.

 

To TigerVols point, we had Army Generals and the Commandant of the Marine Corps resisting allowing gays to serve openly in the military for many of the same reasons.

They were told to suck it up and make it work.

And, they're trying to fight actual war, not win fucking football games.

If an NFL head coach can't integrate an openly gay player into his team, and deal with -- or mitigate -- the "distractions", then he's not muxh of a leader.

 

No more hypocritical than Obama evolving position on gay marriage that
played out in public.

 

That was going to happen . . . the timing was the lone variable.

 

No doubt it will happen with Dungy as well. He just needs some time
for his position to evolve although his bosses at NBC might try and
speed up the process.

I know it's not a serious award show and somewhat illegitimatizes the speech
but did anyone see Sam's touching acceptance of his ESPY award?