Tony Dungy Slams Race-Baiting Scientific American Article: 'Absolutely Ridiculous'

Former NFL head coach and current NBC Sports broadcaster Tony Dungy took a shot at a ridiculous opinion piece that appeared in Scientific American.

Somehow, that publication managed to publish an article that could be interpreted as both unscientific and un-American.

Impressive.

The piece was written by anthropologist Tracie Canada and was titled "Damar Hamlin’s Collapse Highlights the Violence Black Men Experience in Football."

Canada's article asserts that Black men are disproportionately affected by "football's violence."

She even goes so far as to argue that colleges going ahead with games during the COVID pandemic "demonstrate how organizations, administrators and fans dismiss each player’s personhood, strip them of their humanity and reduce them to mere bodies."

Never mind that the Damar Hamlin incident brought out nothing but empathy and goodwill toward a young man who was just moments away from death.

I don't think there's anyone alive who dismissed his "personhood" either. As divided as the entire country is, I can't remember a time everyone rallied around one person more in the last 10 years than Damar Hamlin.

But what do I know? It's someone like Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dungy whose opinion matters.

Fortunately for all of us, he was happy to provide it.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dungy's insights on football carry far more weight than those of any scholar. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Dungy Called the Article "Absolutely Ridiculous"

As you probably expected with a headline as certifiably insane as that — and with an article to match it — Scientific American's tweet was promptly ratioed. Replies outnumbering likes nearly 10-1.

One of those comments came from Dungy, who slammed it for its asinine argument.

Dungy played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants from 1977 to 1979. He then embarked on a Hall of Fame during which he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts.

This is to say that the man has been around football for a long, long time.

Dungy is one of the most respected figures in football and has routinely been on the side of rationality over the years. Even if that meant getting an earful from keyboard warriors and left-wing "scholars."

Last year, Dungy heard it from unhinged leftists when he had the audacity to be on hand when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that pledged $70 million to foster youth and struggling fathers. The aim was to promote fatherhood and combat a surge in fatherless households.

Canada can cite as many sociologists and feminists as she wants (and she cites many). That won't provide the same insight as someone who has been through the game in multiple capacities.

Tony Dungy is a wildly intelligent, thoughtful guy who has been around the sport of football for most of his life.

I think he knows what he's talking about a bit more than a clout-chasing cultural anthropologist.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle