ESPN host Keith Olbermann blasted former NFL coach Tony Dungy after the latter said he wouldn't have drafted openly gay St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam. Olbermann mentioned Dungy's support of New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick and even referenced the history of African Americans in the league.
Dungy made headlines Sunday when he told the Tampa Bay Tribune he wouldn't have drafted Sam, the NFL's first openly gay active player.
"I wouldn't have taken him," said Dungy, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts coach. "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."
Although Dungy may have been referring to the media circus that would follow Sam, it didn't stop pundits from firing back at the current NBC analyst.
Olbermann discussed Dungy's remarks during the "World's Worst Person In Sports" segment of his ESPN show.
"I have a problem believing Tony Dungy's sincerity in this one," Olbermann said, via Boston.com. "To Mr. Dungy, whatever the distractions Michael Vick presented were nothing compared to the distractions Michael Sam might present.
"'I wouldn't want to deal with it, things will happen,' is remarkably similar to what football coaches and owners said until 1946 about players who looked like Tony Dungy. And it's remarkably similar to what NFL owners said until 1989 about guys who wanted to become NFL head coaches who look like Tony Dungy."
With the exception of Sam's reality TV show with the Oprah Network, which was eventually scrapped, things have been quiet from the Rams' OTAs - perhaps the clearest indicator Sam and his sexual orientation is more of a concern for people outside the NFL than it is for his teammates inside the locker room.
"There's a 90-man roster right now," said St. Louis wide receiver T.J. Moe, who also 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."
