Tony Dungy announced today that he will return for his 7th season as coach of the Indianapolis Colts next year, a decision which undoubtedly caused a sigh of relief among Colt followers everywhere. It’s pretty hard to criticize Dungy as either a coach or a man, and since his first six years with the Colts produced a 73-23 record, no season with less than 10 wins, six post-season appearances, culminating in last year snatching a Super Bowl trophy for the city of Indianapolis, he might get more grace from rabid fans when his teams don’t bring home a ring every year. True enough, once the bar of expectation gets raised as high as it is in Colts country these days, the populace won’t be satisfied with simply winning lots of games—it’s AFC Championships and Super Bowls or “what have you done for me lately” will take down even an icon like Dungy.
Nevertheless, his announcement probably stiffened at least a few listeners because of an admission he made that will undoubtedly garner negative attention. Not the assertion that his decision rested primarily on receiving his families’ blessing, nor his humble willingness to be replaced by one of his assistants should the time be right.
Rather, his unapologetic stance that he views his work with the team as a “ministry” probably already has ACLU folks looking for a way to stop the man before he goes any further. What some suspected all along, that Dungy is really only in the business of football to proselytize his conservative religious views and to push Jesus down players and fans throat, will only be strengthened by his matter of fact implication of his role on the team as “minister.”
Plenty of writers these days strive against the mixing of sport and religion and see them as oil and water—they just don’t or at least shouldn’t mix--and in many cases rightly so. We’re well beyond the point of annoyed when it comes to players kneeling at the end zone altar, pointing to the heavens after exceptional plays, answering every post-game question by smuggling Jesus into answers that have nothing to do with the interview. While it’s probably silly to be offended by such innocuous behavior, it is nevertheless annoying to watch as a fan, whether one considers themselves religious or not.
But I don’t think this is what Dungy has in mind when he talks of his coaching role as a ministry. I think he understands his platform as an opportunity to serve others, to comfort other grieving parents who have lost children, to help young men who are smothered with themselves see a world that’s bigger than the suffocating and intoxicating culture of professional football, to use his financial resources to make a difference in other’s lives, to make a positive difference in the league where he’s worked his entire adult life.
While we should probably all be offended by gestures into heaven after scores and genuflecting sack artists, we should probably all equally be comforted that a man like Tony Dungy exists in the world of pro football, a man who beyond comprehension has a genuine category called “ministry defined by service” in his vocabulary/vocational decision making template. The league will miss him when he’s gone.