Saturday, April 14, 2007

Prejudice is okay. As long as it's only about skin color. Or gender.

Intolerant douchebag Tony Dungy has stepped in the hypocritical bullshit once again. When he and other black NFL coaches were asked to comment about the Don Imus situation, Dungy condemned the "racist" and "sexist" remarks made by the talk show host, calling them "inappropriate" and "not acceptable." He also added " . . . We need to move toward a more civil society built on respect, not degradation, built on thoughtfulness, not carelessness. We can do it if we put our minds to it."

This, coming from a man who campaigns for and is associated with a group that is actively prejudiced against (and seeks to limit the civil rights of) a segment of our population. Of course, this is okay because the group he discriminates against is gay, and not black or female, and because his mythological creator "tells" him that this demographic is immoral and therefore deserving of derision, scorn and oppression. (Odd, that I didn't see Dungy preaching "respect" and "thoughtfulness" when Isaiah Washington and Ann Coulter were mouthing off about "faggots." I guess Rutgers women basketball players enjoy "favored nation" status with his lord more than T.R. Knight).

Last year, I had a great deal of respect for the man. He got a raw deal in Tampa only to resurface with the Colts, and handled the questions about his inability to win the big game with either team with grace and class. Then, as his team was challenging the Dolphins record as an undefeated team, he suffered a horrible loss with his son's suicide and comported himself in the public eye with dignity and quiet character. He (and Lovie Smith) also addressed the issues surrounding minority coaches with sensitivity and reason at this year's Super Bowl. However, when he immediately started blathering on at the presentation of the Lombardi trophy about how it was god, and not Rex Grossman's ineptitude nor Peyton Manning's execution, that won the game, I started to lose respect for him (although some in Knoxville might argue that Peyton and the almighty are one in the same. At least I can verify that one exists, because I've seen Mastercard commercials). Now, he's denigrated an entire group of human beings and visibly and actively worked to restrict their basic freedoms, while hypocritically lambasting a shock jock who thoughtlessly maligned a different group (of course it should be noted that while Imus's comments were deplorable and insensitive, he didn't show up as a featured speaker to raise money to keep blacks, women or basketball players from getting married). I guess when the lord gives you a Super Bowl ring, you're entitled to bigotry without reproach.

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