FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

TONY DUNGY DISCUSSES IMPACT OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S ‘I HAVE A DREAM’ SPEECH WITH CAROLYN MANNO ON ‘SPORTSDASH WITH YAHOO! SPORTS’

Today marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in Washington, D.C. Today on SportsDash With Yahoo! Sports, co-host Carolyn Manno spoke with NBC Football Night in America analyst Tony Dungy about the impact of Dr. King’s speech on his life, the NFL and sports as a whole, as well as his role as a mentor for other African-American coaches in the NFL. Below is a transcript of Manno’s interview with Dungy.

Carolyn Manno: “We are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ’I Have A Dream’ speech, a moment in history that helped shape modern America. Super Bowl-winning coach and current NFL analyst Tony Dungy joins us now on the phone. Tony, what do you remember about that moment?”

Tony Dungy: “Carolyn, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 7 years old, and I just remember sitting there watching on television, black and white TV, and seeing an African-American man captivate the whole country. For me, growing up in a little small town in Michigan, it was a thrill, but it also got me to think about dreaming.”

CM: “What do you remember about your father’s reaction, Tony?”

TD: “My dad was a schoolteacher who had fought in World War II. He had taught in segregated schools before I was born. I think there was a pride factor in him, too, and a sense that we were making progress and that maybe his children would get some of the benefits that he didn’t have growing up. I know he was thrilled by it.”

CM: “It’s been 50 years since Dr. King’s speech, Tony, and 10 years since the NFL imposed what is known as the Rooney Rule — essentially Steelers chairman Dan Rooney pushing the league to require teams to interview minority candidates every time there’s a coaching or GM vacancy. As you look at the landscape, what are your thoughts on where things stand right now?”

TD: “Well, I think we have made a lot of progress in sports in general, and in the NFL in particular. My first encounter with the NFL was with the Steelers; I played there and Dan Rooney was the chairman at that time. I just remember Dan being at the forefront of trying to make things right, and telling me as a young coach, ‘We want you to be yourself. Be who you are. We want you to climb the ladder.’ He just gave me a lot of help throughout my career. I think that was Dr. King’s dream, that we get to the point where we don’t need the Rooney Rule, where things just flow naturally and we are judged by how well you do the job. That’s coming, and we’ve made a lot of progress; not quite there yet, but it’s coming.”

CM: “You mention everyone who has influenced you, and you have certainly been a mentor to many in the league. You met with Michael Vick in prison after he pleaded guilty to dog-fighting charges, you reached out to Chip Kelly after Riley Cooper used a racial slur; how has what Dr. King stood for impacted your ability to counsel others?

TD: “I was blessed to come up at a time where I had so many people helping me. I look back and Dan Rooney and Chuck Noll jumpstarting my career and being able to dream as a young coach in the league now about being a head coach. When I got to that position in 1996 in Tampa, that was one of the things I wanted to do, to help other young minorities get that opportunity, and to me it’s been really fun watching the careers of these guys take off. It’s been a blessing to me to be able to help Mike Tomlin, Leslie Frazier, Jim Caldwell, Lovie Smith, Herm Edwards get to that head coaching pinnacle. It’s been great for me, something to give back and to keep that vision of Dr. King alive.”

CM: “Still there were head coaching vacancies and GM vacancies at the end of last season that weren’t filled, only filled by white candidates. What progress should we expect in the next 10 years; where do we need to go from here, in your opinion?”

TD: “I think in all of the areas – coaching, general managers, staff, high-ranking positions – we just have to live up to what Dr. King was saying — judge by the content, the character, what guys have done through experience. That’s what we are hoping for and we have made tons of progress in that area. We just have to keep going.”

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