Last year, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy thought he was making a relatively innocent comment when he said he would pass on Michael Sam in the NFL Draft strictly to avoid media distractions. Jason Collins felt the remarks were homophobic.
Collins, who became the first openly gay NBA player when he was signed by the Brooklyn Nets last year, recently mentioned Dungy in a discussion with USA Today Sports about a new international study on homophobia. Collins compared Dungy’s thoughts on Sam to former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist beliefs.
“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 said. “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.”
Sterling, as you know, was forced out as Clippers owner after he was caught on an audio tape making shockingly racist remarks.
Most would argue that Dungy’s thoughts on Sam were nowhere near the level of Sterling’s tirade, but you can understand the point Collins was making. As we mentioned before, an openly gay player would never be drafted if everyone shared Dungy’s mindset. The response Sam had for Dungy last year summed that up perfectly.
