Not everybody is convinced by those beeping sounds coming from Tony Dungy as the NBC NFL analyst backs away from his unsupportive quote about Michael Sam.
Sam is the late-round NFL draft pick who had the courage to announce he was gay before the draft.
"I wouldn't have taken him,'' Dungy, a former Gopher and former Bucs and Colts coach, told Tampa Bay Times sports reporter Ira Kaufman. "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.''
I'd have had more respect for Dungy if he had said Sam is no Jackie Robinson and is just not good enough to play in the NFL. But things happen? Things — better known by the overused, ever-popular term "distractions" — are part of life.
I wanted to ask Dungy why coaches take those jobs if they don't want to manage the distraction of other people's problems, but @NBCSportPR didn't acknowledge my Tuesday tweet.
The first black coach to win a Super Bowl is a man who previously enjoyed a good distraction. He stepped forward to mentor dog killer Michael Vick and didn't step away from Marvin Harrison when he was investigated in a murder case while with the Colts.
But Dungy wouldn't have drafted this nice college kid who, despite loving men, has triumphed over a heartbreaking family background.
After sports people ripped into him, Dungy issued a statement. I think we were supposed to read that statement and conclude that the distraction Dungy was referring to was the circus of that OWN reality show about Sam. Good save, Coach. That show was an idea so dumb, I couldn't believe Oprah's people and Sam's handlers considered shooting a frame before someone called a marginal prospect even makes the Rams.