Tony Dungy On WFAN: Colin Kaepernick's Protest Is Working
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Is Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest working? Former NFL coach Tony Dungy says yes.
"I think it's definitely working," Dungy told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Friday. "We've had more discussion, more dialogue, more people talking about this than I can remember. And I think that's good.
Dungy said he supports the message of Kaepernick and other players who are kneeling or raising their fists during "The Star-Spangled Banner," although he said he doesn't necessarily agree with the method, adding his father was a World War II veteran.
"The national anthem was important to me," the NBC Sports analyst said. "But my dad also knew when he got finished fighting and came back, he wasn't going to be able to ride in the front of the buses, he wasn't going to be able to teach at certain schools because he was a black man. So should he just fight and not saying anything when he got back? No. We have to have the freedom to try to make this country better."
The former Buccaneers and Colts coach said he encouraged his players to get involved in their communities, and the protests against racial oppression and police brutality today are an example of players doing just that.
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"When you challenge the players to do that and to be good citizens and to make a difference in their communities and they come to you and say, 'Coach, I feel like I'm doing something that's going to help, I think it's important,' you can't say, 'Don't do that, don't be socially active, don't have a conscience about what's going on in our country,'" Dungy said.
"I think most people agree on the message. There's something wrong in our country right now, and what can we do to help it?"
To listen to the full interview with Dungy, in which he also discusses the Giants, Jets and more, click on the audio player above.
