“I wouldn’t have taken him,’’ said Dungy, via Ira Kaufman in the Tampa Bay Tribune. “Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. …It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen.’’ – Tony Dungy

“I thought Tony Dungy did a great job because he was honest … I think most people in this situation have been giving a politically correct answer and a lot of guys feel totally different than what they’re saying on camera, in front of reporters. So Tony Dungy was honest, and I agree. I would have to say if Michael Sam was a teammate and I was still playing and we were here in New York City and I was playing for the Giants, it would be a distraction and I would not want to have to deal with that every day with the amount of media coverage that it’s getting. It’s not about that player or about what that player stands for. It’s about the team. And I think it’s no different than when a guy comes in, he has a different race, different religion or three or four wives or eight baby mamas. It really doesn’t matter. That’s his business. As long as we play on the football field together and do something about the team and not have to talk about that individual and what he believes in every day I can live with that, but for this fact, you have to talk about it every single day after every practice, and I think it is a distraction.”  – Antonio Pierce