On Monday, comments were released made by Tony Dungy on Michael Sam's interview. Dungy was quoted saying he wouldn't have drafted Sam because he didn't want to deal with the distractions. He then clarified and gave lengthy comments to Pro Football Talk.
"I was asked whether I would have drafted Michael Sam and I answered that I would not have drafted him. I gave my honest answer, which is that I felt drafting him would bring much distraction to the team," Dungy said. "At the time of my interview, the Oprah Winfrey reality show was going to chronicle Michael's first season had been announced."
"I was not asked whether or not Michael Sam deserves an opportunity to play in the NFL. He absolutely does."
"I was not asked whether his sexual orientation should play a part in the evaluation process. It should not," Dungy wrote. "I was not asked whether I would have a problem having Michael Sam on my team. I would not."
The media likes to play with comments and make them usually into a negative sense. The key here is that Tony Dungy's comments did not intend to be against Michael Sam as a man. These quotes by Dungy clearly state that he wasn't going after Michael Sam as a person, and should not be interpreted that way. Dungy continues to clarify "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."
Dungy finishes by saying,"My sincere hope is that we will be able to focus on his play and not on his sexual orientation."