"Being intolerant of intolerance is not the same thing as intolerance."
I first read those words on Twitter a couple years ago, and I always revert back to them when someone like Tony Dungy is in the news. The NBC commentator and former Super Bowl-winning coach has come under fire in recent days for a very stupid, harmful tweet claiming some school districts are "putting litter boxes in school bathrooms for students who identify as cats," an anti-transgender myth that is not true, according to many reputable outlets.
This isn't the first time Dungy has espoused his manure-esque anti-LGBTQ+ opinions, and it won't be the last. That's why NBC has no choice but to fire him. The fact that the network even showed his face during its NFL playoff coverage on Saturday is despicable. And that was just a day after he grossly used the near death of Damar Hamlin to propagate his anti-abortion stance at a March For Life rally in Washington, D.C.
Dungy has long been hailed as this "great man of faith," but he has done anything but love thy neighbor, if his history of bigoted statements and actions is any indication.
Tony Dungy's Long History of Hate
Photo by Icon Sportswire
Below is just a brief rundown of Dungy's history of bigotry. (H/t Outsports)
In 2006, he spoke at a fundraiser for the Indiana Family Institute, which opposes same-sex marriage. Dungy said, "I embrace that stance" in regard to being against same-sex marriage.
When NBA player Jason Collins came out in 2013, Dungy said he doesn't "agree" with Collins' lifestyle. Being gay is not a lifestyle or a choice. It's who Collins is. That's like disagreeing with Dungy for being Black.
Dungy also said he would not have drafted Michael Sam, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 as the NFL's first openly gay player. He was quoted saying he "wouldn't want to deal with all of it" and "it's not going to be totally smooth." Meanwhile, Dungy's current co-worker, Jason Garrett, had no problem signing Sam to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad that same year.
Oh, yeah. He also said Michael Vick deserved a second chance and he would have welcomed Ray Rice on his team even after video emerged of him knocking out his girlfriend in an elevator.
And don't even get me started on Dungy's Twitter account.
"Homosexuality was a concept when the Bible was written. There are passages in the Bible that deal directly with that," he wrote in 2021.
Homosexuality was a concept when the Bible was written. There are passages in the Bible that deal directly with that.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) August 31, 2021
"It doesn't matter how I feel about homosexuality. I believe the bible is God's word and that's what the bible says," he wrote in 2014.
@VancouverGold It doesn't matter how I feel about homosexuality. I believe the bible is God's word and that's what the bible says.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) November 8, 2014
"I do not support same sex marriage. Is that 'gay bashing'?" he wrote in 2013.
@Farmboy444 I do not support same sex marriage. Is that "gay bashing"?
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) March 27, 2013
Umm, newsflash, Tony: If you believe something that you read in a book, then that is still what you believe (which, like, duh?). It doesn't matter if you read it in the Bible or in a Dr. Seuss book.
Look, believing in God is fine. Even following the Bible is OK. I know plenty of religious people who do so while also being in support of same-sex marriage. That's because they know the Bible was written thousands of years ago. This is a different world we live in. Let's be honest here. Dungy is against same-sex marriage. He's against the LGBTQ+ community. He hides behind his faith while doing so. He has constantly showed his true colors, and the hues in the rainbow aren't part of them.
NBC can't allow Dungy to have the platform he does anymore. It's dangerous. Transgender people are already more likely to die by suicide, and LGBTQ+ youth (whom Dungy was inaccurately talking about) are even more at risk because of the way they are mistreated and stigmatized by society (I'm looking at you, Tony Dungy). Those facts should especially tug at Dungy. Dungy's son, James, was just 18 when he died by suicide back in 2005. The last thing we should do is validate anything this bigoted man says by propping him up on national television.
And to anyone who says Dungy should "stick to sports," I say Dungy should stick those antiquated opinions up his butt and go rot somewhere while the rest of the world moves toward a more harmonious and accepting society. Sports doesn't need you, or anyone who thinks like you.
And if you think what I'm writing is intolerant, well ...
Being intolerant of intolerance is not the same thing as intolerance.
