Dungy doesn't appear to be a fan of players that would cause distractions.

[Eagle In Ohio]

Why you gotta diss the Raiders like that ?

A player can be average or below average, have a blazing 40 time and be a first round pick of the Raiders. Combines/pro days always trump a college career. Its not right, but it happens most of the time.

I see your point, but I think that in this particular case, having a bad pro day just doesn't drop you THAT far considering what he did that past season. I realize he wasn't projected as a first rounder, but for the SEC Defensive POY to almost not get drafted ? Sounds fishy to me.

[TerpEagle]

situation. I think its a non-issue.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200...ut-michael-sam

"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.

I do not believe Michael's sexual orientation will be a distraction to his teammates or his organization.

I do, however, believe that the media attention that comes with it will be a distraction. Unfortunately we are all seeing this play out now, and I feel badly that my remarks played a role in the distraction."

He's still saying that will be a distraction. That's still his position. And he still holds the position that he would avoid a distraction. So he's blamed the media (himself included) for causing the distraction that would prevent him from drafting Sam based solely on merit. I wonder if he'd blame the media for sensationalizing Jackie Robinson or any other first minority.

Also, the Washington Post points out regarding Dungy handling discipline problems (you know - actual actions of a player that make himself and the team look bad and have to answer distracting non-football related questions):

--
During his tenure as head coach in Indianapolis, 15 of Dungy’s players were arrested on assorted charges including drunken driving and drug possession, according to a database of NFL-related arrests since 2000 maintained by the San Diego Union-Tribune. In three cases, the charges were dropped or the player was acquitted. In only one case, Ed Johnson’s arrest on marijuana possession charges, did the team respond. Johnson was cut, then re-signed by another head coach after Dungy’s retirement.
--

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/a...n-limitations/

[Dan Drives a Van]

People are more than entitled to their beliefs, but that doesn't mean others need to accept all beliefs as being equal.

I think this is a pretty succinct way of putting it, and pretty tough to argue.

I would just edit it to add "...once they've made a genuine attempt to objectively examine that belief." Taking a complex belief system and reducing it to a single term such as 'homophobia' doesn't further the conversation or educational progress at all.