Tony Dungy comes out in support of gay marriage ban

Culture: In Indiana. There was a lot of pressure for Dungy not to show up at the Indiana Family Institute from gay groups. He showed up and wasn't expected to talk about the topic but he did.

What was surprising is the Indianapolis Colts' quiet coach shared his position publicly, sparking discussion about the impact of the Super Bowl winner's comments. Dungy caused a stir Tuesday when he accepted the "Friend of Family" award from the conservative Indiana Family Institute. The coach told the audience he supported the group's efforts to amend the Indiana constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. "I appreciate the stance they're taking, and I embrace that stance," Dungy told the crowd of about 700 people. Dungy said his comments should not be considered gay bashing. "We're not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we're trying to promote the family -- family values the Lord's way," Dungy said.

Indy Star columnist Russ Pulliam said the pressure backfired.

The implication was that, while Dungy is a top-notch football coach, he was naïve to hang out with bigots who hate homosexuals. The Family Institute, according to this story line, is morally unfit for public respectability and ought to be shunned, like the Ku Klux Klan, because it favors marriage as involving one man and one woman. The strategy was to embarrass Dungy, portraying him as a stereotypical jock who is uninformed about weighty social issues. But that tactic backfired. In accepting the award, Dungy came back at his critics with a ringing endorsement of the amendment. "IFI is saying what the Lord says," Dungy declared at the dinner. "You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be. I'm on the Lord's side."

Yet back him in a corner and hint that he's too friendly with the wrong crowd, and he's going to reach for his Bible and answer with something more than personal opinion. He also made it clear that he was for the family, not against homosexuals. "We're not anti- anything else. We're not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we're trying to promote the family -- family values the Lord's way," Dungy said. His opponents adopted the agree-with-me-or-we-will-embarrass-you method of debate. It's a shallow approach to a serious discussion and tells more about his critics than anything about Dungy. Tactically, his critics have handed the marriage amendment team a couple of touchdowns in a close game. They may end up wishing they had let the coach receive his award in peace and quiet.