While Tony Dungy spent the day backtracking, clarifying and making less sense than in his original statement, St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam issued a comment that was loud and clear about Dungy's comments.
"Thank God he wasn't St. Louis Rams' coach," Sam said with a chuckle, according to NFL.com.
Dungy on Monday told the Tampa Bay Tribune that he would not have drafted Sam, the first openly gay player to enter the NFL Draft.
On Tuesday, he tried to put his comments into context, without much success.
Sportscaster appalled that Michael Sam wasn't drafted until late in the seventh round
"What I was asked about was my philosophy of drafting, a philosophy that was developed over the years, which was to minimize distractions for my teams," Dungy said, according to NFL.com. "I do not believe Michael's sexual orientation will be a distraction to his teammates or his organization.
"I do, however, believe that the media attention that comes with it will be a distraction. Unfortunately we are all seeing this play out now, and I feel badly that my remarks played a role in the distraction."
Sam took Dungy's comment in stride when asked about his reaction.
"I don't really care what people are coming up and talking about," Sam said as the Rams newcomers reported for camp on Tuesday. "My job is to make this team, that's my number one priority."
After being thankful Dungy wasn't a part of the Rams organization, Sam did the right thing not to make an issue out of it.
"But I have a great respect for Dungy, and everyone in America is entitled to their own opinions," he said.
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