NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Tony Dungy recently came out and stated that part of the reason he was fired by NBC is because of his outspokenness about the Christian faith that he holds near and dear to his heart. In a preview for an interview with sports journalist and former ESPN anchor Sage Steele, Dungy explained that he “kinda knew” the network wouldn’t bring him back for another season as an analyst on “Sunday Night Football” due in part to his Christian values.
“There were things that they didn’t want me to talk about,” Dungy went on to say in the preview, adding that “they knew who I was when I got hired” and “it is what it is.” Steele then took a moment to point out that it seemed from the outside that NBC specifically gave Dungy the boot over his pro-life views. The legendary Indianapolis Colts coach responded with a slight chuckle.
Basically, Dungy confirmed Steele’s suspicion without needing to say a single word. But he then indicated that despite getting his pink slip over it, he didn’t regret his decision to be open about what he believes in. “But for me, I’m always gonna do that,” he said of talking openly about his faith, “and I’m gonna try to do it in a respectful way, but people are gonna know that I’m a Christian, so, that part is never gonna leave.”
According to The Conservative News Briefing, the Hall of Famer also made it clear that he is, without question, pro-life, which is not something he’s been shy about expressing for years on his social media accounts. “I am pro-life,” he added, “and I’m not gonna be ashamed to say that.” The full interview with Steele is set to debut on October 14.
Filling in for Dungy will be former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who will provide his own brand of analysis for the current season of “Sunday Night Football.” Dungy, who was also a professional football player in his younger days, played for the Steelers. During his career, he forced a game-clinching fumble in the 1978-79 Super Bowl to take the victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
In the mid-90s, Dungy took a head coaching position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent six seasons with the team and took them to the playoffs four times. After that, he moved on to Indianapolis, where he made the playoffs every single year and took home a Super Bowl victory in the 2006-2007 season, defeating the Chicago Bears. He became the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl.
However, that distinction mattered very little to Dungy. “More than anything, I’ve said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches, showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way,” Dungy said. This did not sit well with Sarah Braunstein of the Bleacher Report who was outraged and accused Dungy of “compartmentalizing” his identity.
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She then accused him of separating his race from his religion and then privileging the wrong one. She then said, “Dungy tried to circumvent race and claim that it was more important that he’d won the Super Bowl as a Christian, thus giving credit and power to a group that has no lack of it.” Despite all of the hate and pushback, Dungy has continued to remain faithful to Christ.
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