Former gay NBA player Jason Collins suggests that former Tampa Bay Bucs coach Tony Dungy is homophobic but does not recognize it.
Collins went as far as to compare Dungy to former Los Angeles Clipper owner Donald Sterling in his shortcomings, in fact.
“If you were to ask Dungy if he feels like homophobia is in his level of thinking or if he’s homophobic,” Collins said, “he’d say no. Well, if you were to ask Sterling if he sees how his comments were racist, he’d say no, too. Some people don’t recognize their own racism, homophobia. His awareness, and people like him, are the problem.”
Dungy raised Collins’ ire when, a year ago, he said he would not draft Michael Sam. Sam, he said, deserved to have a chance to play, but he wouldn’t want the distraction.”
Dungy declined comment on Collins’ remarks.
Collins said he became a member of the Brooklyn Nets and played and “there was this myth that I’d be a distraction,” he said. “After two weeks, it was back to business as usual. There are only so many times you can write the story about the gay teammate.”
Once, I was having dinner with a colleague who happened to be gay and he asked me about Dungy. “Finest man I’ve known,” I said, not thinking of the colleague’s sexuality.
He shook his head and quietly said. “He doesn’t like me.”
