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Legendary NFL Coach Tony Dungy Under Fire For Past Anti-Gay Marriage Remarks – Cassius

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Yikes: Tony Dungy’s views are coming back to haunt him.

The coaching legend is one of the most revered members of the coveted NFL club and has an equally impressive coaching lineage. But his latest critique has nothing to do with what he’s accomplished on the field, but rather some hateful speech he publicly spewed over a decade ago.

Now, OutSports, a gay sports site that’s affiliated with SB Nation, has dropped the second part of a two-part series examining the anti-LGBT past and present of coach and current NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy.

The first part presents receipts that date back to 2006 when he was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, claiming that Dungy raised money  to oppose gay marriage equality at the Indiana Family Institute (IFI) when he was honored at the organization’s “Friends of the Family Banquet.”

“I appreciate the stance [IFI is] taking, and I embrace that stance,” Dungy said of the organization opposing same-sex marriage. “IFI is saying what the Lord says. You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be. I’m on the Lord’s side.”

Then he publicly spoke out about gay NBA player Jason Collins noting that he didn’t agree with his “lifestyle” and wasn’t supportive upon Michael Sam becoming the first out NFL player.

“I wouldn’t have taken him,” Dungy told the Tampa Tribune when asked if he would have drafted Sam. “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.”

As recently as 2020, Dungy appears to still believe that being gay is a lifestyle and addressed it during a conversation on Twitter.