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or many football fans (including this one) coach Tony Dungy is a legend. Even though his career is marred by beating my beloved Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI as head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, I am one of millions who tune into NBC to hear his insights on games. He was the first African-American to win the Super Bowl as head coach and coached for 13 seasons. Now, however, this Hall of Fame inductee is a marked man after a flash mob has formed to force his termination. Why? Because Dungy is a religious conservative who has publicly shared his views against abortion and homosexuality, including a speech at the March for Life this week.
Even before he spoke at the rally, advocates called for Dungy to be fired. He was undeterred. He spoke at the rally and, to the outrage of some, referenced the recent emergency involving Damar Hamlin.
An unbelievable thing happened that night. A professional football game with millions of dollars of ticket money and advertising money on the line, that game was canceled. Why? Because a life was at stake, and people wanted to see that life saved. Even people who are not necessarily religious got together and called on God… that’s exactly why we’re here today. Because every day in this country, innocent lives are at stake. The only difference is they don’t belong to a famous athlete and they’re not seen on national TV. But those lives are still important to God in God’s eyes.
That triggered a round of outrage that Dungy would refer to the incident, including openly racist comments from the left. For example, Ameshia Cross a political analyst with SiriusXM tweeted: “This is vile, disrespectful to Damar Hamlin/ his family and quite frankly wildly out of order. @TonyDungy crossed the line repeatedly, but this might be the grossest attempt at flying into the culture wars. I’ll give it to the Repubs they always find a Black man to carry the water.”
