Colts coach Tony Dungy recently spoke to students at a high school in Tampa, and the Tampa Tribune reports that when a student asked him if there is anything from the 2007 NFL season that he wishes he could have put in his autobiography, he brought up Patriots Spygate story:
The implication from Dungy seems to be that the Colts are more of a "true champion" than the Patriots because people ask of the Patriots, "did they cheat?" For all the talk that Dungy and Bill Belichick have had rather frosty exchanges when their teams have played, their next post-game handshake could be even more awkward."We talk about how important it is to do things the right way and have integrity so that when you do win, people can never ask that question," he said. "That's the great thing that I'm happy about with our team.
"Yes, we won. But no one is really going to ask, 'Did they cheat? Did they do things the right way?' I think our record speaks for itself and if you're a true champion, that's the way you'd like it to be."
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Seattle Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck throws a pass as the Seahawks opened mini-camp at the team's practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck throws a pass as the Seahawks opened football mini-camp at their facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left, calls signals during football mini-camp at the team's practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck stretches as the team opened mini-camp at their football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck watches as the team opened mini-camp at their football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' linebacker Julian Peterson, left, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck run through drills as the NFL football team held minicamp at the team practice facility in Kirkland, Wash., on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, center, prepares to throw as the NFL football team held minicamp at the team practice facility in Kirkland, Wash., on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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** FILE ** In this July 27, 2006 file photo, Cleveland Browns linebacker Willie McGinest stretches during morning practice at the Browns football training camp in Berea, Ohio. Browns linebacker Willie McGinest says the 2008 season will be his last. McGinest told SI.com for a story Thursday, May 8, 2008, that he wants to finish his career on one last playoff run. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left, puts his helmet as they opened mini-camp at the team's football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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** FILE ** This July 26, 2007 file photo shows Michael Vick leaving the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va. A federal judge ordered imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick to repay more than $2.4 million to a Canadian bank for defaulting on a loan, Wednesday May 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 7)
1. So that whole "piped in crowd noise" was my imagination?
Posted at 10:43AM on May 10th 2008 by ciawhite2006
2. Tony Dungy is an honorable man, his comments were intended to say exactly what he said. That is to do the right thing and no one can ever question it. The comment really had nothing to do with the Pats.They are the only ones to answer that question, if anything more is made of Tony Dungy's statemant it will be because some one in the media needs the attention.
Posted at 10:55AM on May 10th 2008 by NLehew
3. Talk about the biggest phony in the NFL. Dungy and his "holier than thou" routine is wearing thin. He and every other coach in the league do the same things the Patriots do. Even former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson admitted to doing it and said that as far as he knew,EVERY team did the same thing.Other current and former coaches have hinted at the same thing. So if thats true, doesnt that make Dungy nothing more that a hippocrite and a liar?
Posted at 11:07AM on May 10th 2008 by dA
4. Tony is a cheat also. All pro sports cheat to get the advantage. They are also overpaid crybabys and the games should be banned. Bad example for children.
Posted at 11:08AM on May 10th 2008 by Dan Cantrell
5. Seems pretty obvious he is referring to the Patriots. This is not the first time Dungy has made reference to the Patriots in this manner. I really don't think the Colts should be throwing stones and acting like they are all such stand-up guys. I mean their quarterback has a potty mouth and was sued for sticking his naked ass and balls in a woman's face. Yeah, sounds like a real gentleman. Plus, let's just wait and see how this Marvin Harrison issue plays out. The truth is that if the Pats sucked and never won anything, no one would care if they had video-taped. This whole issue has been blown way out of proportion to what it should have been. They should have paid their fines, suffered some embarrassment because of it, but what this has turned into is ridiculous. You would think they killed someone.
Posted at 11:12AM on May 10th 2008 by loismustdie
6. Dungy said in a speech last year that he regretted not hugging his son when he left after Thanksgiving dinner. Mr. Dungy, maybe you could learn something from Coach Bellichick: the first thing he does after a win is hug his son(s) or daughter--some or all of whom are always there with their dad. At the end of this life, which man will have the fewest regrets?
Posted at 11:37AM on May 10th 2008 by foosmom
7. PATS SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted at 12:10PM on May 10th 2008 by jamie82
8. Of course the Colts cheat. Every time Polian doesn't like something he has the rules changed in the Colts favor. Every team is suppose to put there best men on the field for each game. Not the Colts, they don't play there starters in the last game of the season. And Dungy should keep his mouth shut period. He is the only coach that has been flapping his gums about Spygate. I wonder what is in his closet.
Posted at 1:06PM on May 10th 2008 by Jerry
9. Bellicheat; PWND!
Posted at 1:48PM on May 10th 2008 by ยง
10. THAT IS NO DIG AT THE PATS, THATS JUST TONY USING AN EXAMPLE THAT HITS HOME WITH MANY, MANY PEOPLE>
HIS MESSAGE IS THE BEST MESSAGE FOR CHILDREN.HE IS 100 % ACCURATE AND THAT WAS A GOOD LESSON THAT MOST CAN UNDERSTAND AT THAT AGE.
Posted at 2:17PM on May 10th 2008 by KJ
11. pats cheated no other way to slice it. whatever to whoever says all teams cheat and do that. Ill agree when i see other teams that have tapes released. If they were such a talented team, then there should be no reason to do it. it helped them get ahead. I hate that the patriots were caught cheating, yet in everyones eyes they still can do no wrong.
Posted at 2:19PM on May 10th 2008 by tiffany
12. 4. Tony is a cheat also. All pro sports cheat to get the advantage. They are also overpaid crybabys and the games should be banned. Bad example for children.
What planet are you from?? Planet dumbass??
Posted at 2:28PM on May 10th 2008 by majorsujet
13. 18-1 hahahahaha it dont mean a thing if you aint got the ring duwaduwaduwa.
Posted at 2:37PM on May 10th 2008 by Garjaya
14. when a person speaks from the heart, he is called a fraud, phony and hippocrat. yet when he spouts insults, blasphemy and lies he becomes a hard nosed competitor. tony dungy has always been a gentleman, on and off the field, and to inject his sons death into the equation is heartless. let us all take a step back and look at the man. he did not mock or criticize any other team, he only told the young men how to live and play.
Posted at 2:46PM on May 10th 2008 by chas. fratini
15. tony (holy than god) dungy should look at his own players before saying anything about anyone...does marvin(6 gun) harrison ring a bell
Posted at 2:49PM on May 10th 2008 by pioneert897
16. The Patriots will always have an asterisk next to their three World Championships. They cheated, and they were caught. Unfortunately, they weren't punished near as much as they should have been.
Posted at 2:49PM on May 10th 2008 by JosephZMAN63
17. eat it Dungy!!
Posted at 2:58PM on May 10th 2008 by angry man
18. The Pats got caught, all teams in sports try to get
the advantage on the other team. Stealing signals
is nothing new in any sport played, at any level.
The NFL came out and said " Stop doing this!" and
the Pats, just like most other teams did not and
the Jets turned the Pats in, end of story. They've
been punished so just drop it already.
Posted at 3:03PM on May 10th 2008 by fsumike
19. Tony Dungy is all about class and playing the game the way it was meant to be played. That's why he's so respected by his peers and players around the league. NONE of his former players has a bad word to say about him.
BTW...those of you who say everyone cheats...that is absolute BS and you obviously know very little about the NFL...either that or you're Patriots fans making lame excuses....or both.
Posted at 3:09PM on May 10th 2008 by Dave
20. Dungy said nothing about the Pats. Maybe he was referring to the Pats, and maybe not. Dungy didn't make the Pats cheat, Bellicheck did. Bellicheck obviously felt the need to cheat to defeat his opponents. Maybe he lacks the coaching skill required to do it. Maybe he's not a genius after all. Maybe he's just an average coach attempting to gain an advantage over his opponents. And if the other teams are doing it too, where's the proof? 18-1. Up yours pat fans.
Posted at 3:11PM on May 10th 2008 by Fred Smorgasbord