Former NFL coach Tony Dungy said that he wouldn't have drafted Michael Sam because of all the media attention the first openly gay player would receive and the distractions it would have caused. I've written about it at length here and here. Michael Sam was asked to respond to those words and answered in a very calm and thoughtful way:
On Tuesday Michael Sam responded to Tony Dungy's comment to the Tampa Bay Tribune that he wouldn't take the openly gay St. Louis Rams rookie in the draft because he would be a "distraction," a comment that Dungy later clarified. Sam said he was just glad that Dungy wasn't the Rams coach.
It was a tempered response from the rookie, who spoke with ESPN's Rams writer Nick Wagoner, but it was a response that showed that Sam won't be affected by what Dungy or anyone else thinks.
Sam also said:
I have a lot of respect for Coach Dungy, And like everyone in America, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
