Most of the country will be glued to the television Sunday evening for the Super Bowl — but Christians, especially those hosting watch parties, are encouraged to play a free video message from a former championship coach as an alternative to Madonna’s halftime show.

Tony Dungy and his wife have recorded a three-minute video on the topic of adoption. Marc Andreas, vice president of marketing for the adoption agency Bethany Christian Services, shares about the video — and the Dungys. … It will be great to … share a personal message from Tony about children — about adoption, orphans and children.

Bethany Christian Services successfully fought against a nondiscrimination clause based on sexual orientation for adoptions in Virgina, so we know what their definition of “family” is, and it doesn’t include me. And with Madonna “bringing gay” to the Super Bowl, we know which side she is on.

Joe.My.God has the three-minute video.

Hat tip to Jim Allen.

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As I have gotten older, I have only developed more admiration for Dr. King.  He made a great personal sacrifice to champion the cause of many people who didn’t have the benefit of equal rights and protection.

Let’s be clear. Dungy fights against the “equal rights and protection” of many people, yet says he admires King for fighting for the “equal rights and protection” of many people. What’s the disconnect?

For Dungy, and sadly for many, King simply stood for racial equality. He didn’t intend to bring about justice for gay people. When King talks about “all God’s children,” apparently Dungy thinks that gay people aren’t God’s children. Dungy talks about the scope of King’s reach…

And it hit me very hard because I felt he had done so much–and not just for African Americans, but for our country as well.

Interesting that he would single out African-Americans but wouldn’t mention other races or sexual orientations. Why? Again, to so many King simply stood for the freedom of one racial group, not all people. As Dungy talks about equality for the whole country, does he not believe gay people are part of this great country?

As his column goes on, he further reveals my conclusion:

Today, my wife Lauren and I have to remind our children of what it was like when Dr. King was alive and how he and others had to fight for things we now take for granted.  Things like going to school in the neighborhood where they live, eating at any restaraunt [sic] they like, shopping at any store they happen to go into–these are things that never even cross their mind.  So it comes as a shock to them when we tell them there was a time when that wasn’t the case and that people like Dr. King helped bring about change.

All of his examples reference the horrible struggle that many Black Americans faced in the 1960s (and sadly, some of whom still face it today). They also reflect a head-in-the-ground approach to equality: “If I’ve got equality, if I can coach in the NFL and get paid millions to talk on TV, then everybody’s fine.”

It’s sad to me that someone who has openly fought against equality for so many Americans would invoke the name of Martin Luther King Jr. on this day of remembrance.

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You can find contact information for the Big Ten here.

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The Big Ten may have chosen the worst division names in history, but they outsunk themselves by choosing to name the conference’s humanitarian award after openly homophobic Tony Dungy. The former Minnesota quarterback has raised money for a rabidly anti-gay organization that has fought to suppress the rights of gay people. But that’s okay with the Big Ten, apparently. The Dungy-Thompson Award is also named for former Indiana RB Anthony Thompson…who is now a pastor.

I guess as long as you follow Jesus Christ you’re a humanitarian in the eyes of the Big Ten.

Hat tip to Jeff Welshans.

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Dungy also said he wouldn’t hire someone “like that” because it’s tough for him to be around. I guess that makes it crystal clear about whether he’d have an openly gay player on his team. I wonder if he’d ask Goodell to tell gay players to stay in the closet, since Dungy doesn’t like that either. Thank Tony Dungy’s God he’s out of the NFL.

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Given how much God, Jesus and the Bible seem to motivate most of what Dungy does these days, I wonder how much of this comes from Tebow’s expressed love for the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. General consensus seems to be that Tebow is a great college QB and that his talent will have trouble translating to the pros. Throw me in that group. Plus, Tebow hasn’t been great this season.

I wonder if Dungy is again blinded by his faith. How he can call the 2009 version of Vince Young the best NFL QB prospect is beyond my understanding. But God has spoken!

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Colts offensive line coach Howard Mudd (right) is retiring due to a change in pension plans. Mudd has been a long-time friend of Dave Kopay and Jim got to meet him at the Colts’ lone playoff game in January.

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Unfortunately, people keep giving Dungy a pass on his hateful anti-gay positions; President George Bush had previously included Dungy on his Council on Service and Civic Participation. It’s another reminder that our equal treatment and rights are still playing third fiddle to politics and the rights of chickens.

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Also, LZ is going to be participating in Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra’s celebrity soccer game this Saturday in Carson, Calif. So if you’re in Southern California, think about heading out for the game Saturday afternoon. Some of the other people playing include Tony Hawk, Marcus Allen, Brandi Chastain and Alexi Lalas.

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But for gay NFL fans, Dungy will be more remembered for his decision in 2007 to raise money for the virulently antigay Indiana Family Institute. Dungy spoke at the group’s dinner that year and raised $150,000, a record amount of money.

The IFI is opposed to gay marriage and Dungy said he supported that decision. “We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we’re trying to promote the family — family values the Lord’s way,” Dungy said.

Dungy’s decision to endorse the political agenda of the IFI drew criticism in the gay community and media, but got little attention in the mainstream media. I suspect that was due to Dungy’s reputation as being one of the “good guys” in the NFL. In late 2007, HBO’s Bob Costas did finally pin down Dungy on his stance.

Costas: What if you had a player who was openly gay? Would that be alright with you?

Dungy: I’m sure I would talk to him about my views on it, what I think the Bible says about it. I would hope that I would give him the same respect as every other player, treat him exactly the same way I treat the other 52 guys, and show him the kind of love that I think the Bible says we are to show everyone.

Costas: And if he’s a good football player, he’s on the Colts.

Dungy: He would be, yes.

As I wrote then, Dungy has always struck me as a decent man, but he has a blind spot on the gay issue and I can’t respect him for that; too many people have used their religious beliefs to discriminate against gays and don’t tell me I have to accept it. I don’t see him as being a hater, but as we saw in the Prop. 8 debate in California, even the “nicest” religious people see no problem with voting against gay rights.

When I attended the Colts-Chargers game in San Diego last week as a guest of the team, Dave Kopay and I were part of the police escort to the stadium, my Toyota Avalon trailing two team buses. As he exited the team’s hotel en route to the bus, Dungy made eye contact with me sitting in my car waiting for the caravan to roll. He smiled and gave a hearty hello, and I wished the Colts well. I was curious what he would have thought had he seen the rainbow sticker on the back of my car and knew it contained two gay men and two Colts fans ready to cheer their lungs out for his team. I would hope it would have made no difference, but I am not sure.

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