By Gudrun Schultz
FLORIDA, United States, February 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Indianapolis Colts’ coach Tony Dungy, who led his team to a 29-17 win in the Super Bowl XLI Sunday, used the post-game interview to give an impassioned witness to his Christian faith and that of his fellow coach for the opposing Chicago Bears.
Asked about the “social significance” in being African-American at such a moment—the coaches of both teams were black, for the first in Super Bowl history—Dungy responded by saying, “I’ll tell you what. I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this. It means an awful lot to our country.
“But again, more than anything, I’ve said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way. And we’re more proud of that.”
Dungy’s comments triggered a media furor over the place of personal Christian witness in the secular world of sports. Los Angeles Times columnist Kevin Modesti wrote, “It was no shock to hear religion come up at that moment; we’re used to athletes crediting God for their victories…But Dungy had to know when he told the biggest audience of his life that promoting his Christian identity meant more than achieving a racial milestone, he was poking a hornet’s nest.”
Among the international news sources covering Dungy’s comments were the Associated Press, International News Service, (Australia), The Edmonton Sun and the Toronto Star (Canada) The Scotsman, UK. and the UK ChristianToday.
While the Associated Press covered the story without editing Dungy’s quote, Bloomberg News Service removed the Christian content from the coach’s response and presented it as a simple commentary on racial achievement, as World Net Daily coverage of the event pointed out.
Bears’ coach Smith also spoke out about his Christian faith in an interview last week, saying, “”My relationship, first, is with Jesus Christ, and he is the center of my life,” said Smith when asked about his faith. “I try to live a Christian life. I would like for players to know my faith based on what they see on a day-to-day basis.”