Ex-coach Tony Dungy says he wouldn't have drafted Michael Sam because 'things will happen'
The St. Louis Rams made history in this year's NFL draft when they selected Missouri linebacker Michael Sam late in the seventh and final round, making Sam the first openly-gay player to be drafted into the league.
The response to the Rams' landmark decision has been almost entirely positive, and fans, in particular, have been embracing the former SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Per ESPN's Darren Rovell, Sam's jersey is currently the sixth-most popular in the NFL.
There are some, however, who don't support the inclusion of Sam in the league.
"I wouldn’t have taken him," former Buccaneers and Colts head coach (and current NBC analyst) Tony Dungy told the Tampa 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's conservative views on religion and sexuality have long been known, but given the direction the league and its fans are moving, towards increasing awareness, tolerance, and progressive social consciousness, comments like these - particularly from a public television personality - are unlikely to be well received by the broader NFL community.
"There’s a 90-man roster right now," said St. Louis wide receiver T.J. Moe, who played with Sam at Missouri. "It doesn’t go 89, and then Michael Sam’s over there - this is the gay team, this is the straight team. Michael Sam is on this team and he’s treated just like anyone else."
Whether or not Dungy is correct that "things will happen," as a result of Sam being in an NFL locker room, not wanting to "deal with all of it" would be a pretty feeble deterrent to anyone with a chance to shake up the status quo.
Everyone reacts differently to change, and often those reactions veer towards reluctance and rejection. As some have aptly noted, Dungy should know this as well as anyone, since he began coaching at a time when there were hardly any African Americans on NFL sidelines.
As Rams general manager Les Snead points out, once the change has been initiated, it's only a matter of time before perception catches up, and the change becomes the new norm.
"All of us in the draft room were aware of the magnitude of the decision, how it would be a pivot in history," Snead says. "Michael is the first, but somewhere in the future, guess what? He’s just going to be a name that a kid in middle school has got to memorize. We won’t think it’s anything special because it will be normal."
[H/T CBS Sports]