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

So you would rather the reporters NOT include the context about Tony Dungy's openly-expressed beliefs and association with anti-gay organizations?

 

And of course the famous story of Jim Ringo hiring an agent
and Lombardi trading him on the spot.

Seems like Chip Kelly decided rid The Eagles of a distraction and
a very fast one at that , so it's not all about talent.

 

When someone signed an agreement to be in a reality show without letting the team drafting him know, it's hard to argue that he's not going to be a distraction.

If that was known during draft, no team would have even considered drafting Sam and he probably wouldn't have been signed as a free agent.

 

I don't think so. He switches from past tense to present tense right around then. I think he's saying that Sam "will be" a distraction, presently.

 

I think that's a fair observation. No doubt that when he kissed his boyfriend
it was an oh shit moment for The Rams. Buckle up it's going to be a bumpy
ride for a bit.

 

Oh SHIT! He kissed a guy! Trouble is a comin'!

 

I don't think the Rams cared about the kiss. I think they worried about a seventh-round pick having to deal with a reality show when he should be worried about making the team.

 

Just saying that the kiss was probably the start of The Rams realizing
that Sam might be a bit of a distraction .

 

It was a huge distraction for the whole 48 hours it took for the Rams and the NFL to put the kibosh on it.

 

The NFL and those around it have a lot of things worthy of criticism.

Tony Dungy is about No. 3,839 on that list.

 

The Tampa Bay Tribune story in question is about NFL players being held more accountable for their locker room conduct.

I'm not sure how the reporter in question phrased his questions to Dungy, but if Dungy was addressing the media distraction from the OWN Network proposed series, then what does that have to do with how the locker room conducts itself? Hey, aren't most players going to be careful about what they say when there's a camera recording them?

I suspect what the reporter was aiming for, with reference to Sam, is "how do you handle the potential for locker room tomfoolery when an openly gay player is in the locker room?"

Regardless, if Dungy was referring to the OWN Network proposed series, why didn't he specify that in his quote? I'm assuming Dungy wasn't misquoted, because Dungy didn't say so in his statement.

So, regarding Dungy, it's about "choose your words more carefully next time." You think the OWN Network show is a distraction, you specifically say so and most people won't question you.

And, yes, it's true Vince Lombardi would have found a way to nip all distractions in the bud... and that was in the 1960's. Just to refresh everyone's memory:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/03/vince-lombardi-accepted-gay-players-on-his-team/

 

I will add that, the OWN Network aside, I just don't see this massive media hype regarding Sam to begin with... certainly not at the level of Vick, Tebow or Johnny Manziel. Granted, though, those three players are quarterbacks, and we all know that position gets talked about to death on ESPN and company.