I won't pretend to know what Tony Dungy is thinking. He clearly doesn't want to tell us why he still plans to appear at a fundraising banquet for the Indiana Family Institute, a conservative policy organization that has sought to make gay marriage specifically illegal in the state of Indiana. Perhaps the Colts' head coach, who has long been a family man and a devout Christian, doesn't care about that and prefers to focus on positive side of this organization. Their arguments about the benefits children get from not being in a broken home aren't without merit. (Insert Tom Brady joke here.) Even IFI President Curt Smith is offering Dungy some cover here, saying it would be wrong for us to assume anything about his views on gay marriage.
The bottom line here, though, is that Tony Dungy is raising money for an organization that is openly prejudiced toward a particular group of people, and that doesn't suit a guy with as much class and dignity as Dungy. After all, five or six decades ago, many thought it was perfectly acceptable to say that interracial marriage was an abomination against God and should be made illegal. I'm pretty sure Dungy wouldn't support a group that promoted that idea. How much different is this, really?
The Colts said in a statement that Dungy "is free to speak to any group he wishes," and yes, it's absolutely his right, and yes, I'm sure he simply wants to promote the importance of strong familial units, which is a good thing. I just never thought of prejudice as much of a family value.
OutSports has a great column on this topic, though some the ads on that page might not make it safe for viewing at work. Here's an alternate link, though, because it's definitely worth reading.
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