stephanie
03-11-2007, 11:48 PM
NFL.com wire reports
INDIANAPOLIS (March 10, 2007) -- Colts coach Tony Dungy's acceptance of an invitation to speak to a conservative Christian group should not be construed as an endorsement of the group's opposition to same-sex marriage, the head of the Indiana Family Institute said.
Some local and national gay rights groups have questioned Dungy's decision to appear at a fundraising banquet this month for the institute, which has been a leading supporter of a proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman.
Institute president Curt Smith said the invitation was based on Dungy's pro-family activities.
"We're very pleased coach Dungy is coming, and I don't pretend to know his views on some of the public policy issues we work on," Smith said.
The institute, which is affiliated with Focus on the Family, plans to honor Dungy on March 20 with its "Friend of the Family" award. Previous recipients include Focus on the Family co-founder Shirley Dobson; U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and former federal independent counsel Kenneth Starr.
Kathy Sarris, president of the Indiana Equality Education Fund, a gay rights advocacy group, told The Indianapolis Star: "I am a little disappointed in that I would think he would want to stay out of the political arena, and the Family Institute is a political organization."
Telephone messages seeking comment were left by The Associated Press on March 10 for Dungy and for Sarris. The Colts, who won the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, said they were unaware of any specific goals of the institute.
"Coach Dungy's feelings on the importance of marriage and family are well known," the team statement said. "He, of course, is free to speak to any group he wishes. The club does not take positions in political issues in which it is not directly involved. The Colts do not endorse any political or religious position taken by any group that any Colts employee decides to speak or lend his or her name to."
http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/IND/10053349
INDIANAPOLIS (March 10, 2007) -- Colts coach Tony Dungy's acceptance of an invitation to speak to a conservative Christian group should not be construed as an endorsement of the group's opposition to same-sex marriage, the head of the Indiana Family Institute said.
Some local and national gay rights groups have questioned Dungy's decision to appear at a fundraising banquet this month for the institute, which has been a leading supporter of a proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman.
Institute president Curt Smith said the invitation was based on Dungy's pro-family activities.
"We're very pleased coach Dungy is coming, and I don't pretend to know his views on some of the public policy issues we work on," Smith said.
The institute, which is affiliated with Focus on the Family, plans to honor Dungy on March 20 with its "Friend of the Family" award. Previous recipients include Focus on the Family co-founder Shirley Dobson; U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and former federal independent counsel Kenneth Starr.
Kathy Sarris, president of the Indiana Equality Education Fund, a gay rights advocacy group, told The Indianapolis Star: "I am a little disappointed in that I would think he would want to stay out of the political arena, and the Family Institute is a political organization."
Telephone messages seeking comment were left by The Associated Press on March 10 for Dungy and for Sarris. The Colts, who won the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, said they were unaware of any specific goals of the institute.
"Coach Dungy's feelings on the importance of marriage and family are well known," the team statement said. "He, of course, is free to speak to any group he wishes. The club does not take positions in political issues in which it is not directly involved. The Colts do not endorse any political or religious position taken by any group that any Colts employee decides to speak or lend his or her name to."
http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/IND/10053349