Tony Dungy was back on the air Saturday afternoon, talking football on NBC’s pregame show before the Jaguars and Chiefs squared off in a divisional round playoff game in Kansas City.
While he had a lot to say about football, he’s had very little to say about a disgusting tweet of his from earlier this week that supported a hateful conspiracy theory that has targeted transgender youth.
Dungy deleted the tweeted and offered a very hollow apology for his words and for seemingly believing one of the dumbest and most dangerous conspiracy theories that you’ll ever come across.
On Saturday, he decided to double down on his apology by posting an even worse one:
This past week I posted a tweet that I subsequently deleted. I issued an apology but not everyone saw it. So I am reposting my apology here. As a Christian I want to be a force for love to everyone. A force for healing and reconciliation-not for animosity. pic.twitter.com/esew5wjUyD
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 21, 2023
I mean, did he really just post a screengrab of a statement that someone was telling him to post and think that was OK and good? It sure seems that way.
And that right there only adds to the awfulness of this situation and of Dungy’s insincere apology.
NFL fans were not impressed.
Did he actually attach a SS of the text of what his PR people told him to tweet??? https://t.co/q2E8N4qSE8
— Forester93 (@Forester932) January 21, 2023
Yep, Tony Dungy definitely wrote this himself. And then put it in quotes, because Tony Dungy’s phone was quoting when Tony Dungy’s brain said. https://t.co/GQrSMsQ0fB
— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) January 21, 2023
Bro are you posting the text your PR person sent you to send out as your own words??? https://t.co/lkhSe1IgDB
— rich (@rich_roberts) January 21, 2023
At no point has Tony Dungy admitted that he tweeted an outrageous, ignorant lie that targets and harms an at-risk community. This is damage control, not accountability, and it amplifies his hate. https://t.co/hhK8YW9Bwq
— Marcus Hayes (@inkstainedretch) January 21, 2023
He posted an apology tweet off of a screen shotted text someone else sent him hahahaha https://t.co/2KGsuto9Ia
— Nate Geary (@NateGearySports) January 21, 2023
Tony Dungy should say:
I apologize to the lgbtqi community for spreading debunked rumors. I deleted the tweet w/out stating why & then issued a comment not an apology. I am sorry and I apologize to the lgbtqi for my bigotry.Tony Dungy said:
"Praise me and praise Jesus." https://t.co/DVZK9nQS2X— President Kamala’s Hand (Again) (@myronjclifton) January 21, 2023
Yo, not here to argue the issue at hand.
Tweeting a screenshot of a received grey iMessage with literal quotations around it as an apology is more disrespectful than almost anything I’ve ever seen.
My man couldn’t copy and paste it into the Notes App 🤣 https://t.co/QCNcxIsaxm
— Nathaniel Behar (@natebehar11) January 21, 2023
This is not an apology. No mention of the LGBT community he was targeting. No distancing from the content of his tweet. "Sorry I shared my actual, long-held anti-LGBT beliefs in a grotesque way" is not an apology. https://t.co/rJHlHdFygj
— Cyd Zeigler (@CydZeigler) January 21, 2023
A patronizing tweet with a screen shot with literal quotation marks of around a non-apology reinforcing that your ignorance is rooted in religious dogma is a new low in social media apologies https://t.co/yQM20MVVK4
— OLED Auerbach (@OjeleyeSeltzer) January 21, 2023
