Tony Dungy calls for unity as professional sports resume after pausing to protest racial injustice

TAMPA, Fla. - Former Buccaneers head coach and Hall-of-Famer Tony Dungy knows all about the Xs and Os of football. As a leader, mentor and philanthropist, he also knows the Xs and Os of life, which are often even more chaotic than the NFL.

“I think as a country, we can do it together and that to me has to be the message,” Dungy told FOX 13. “How are we going to go forward? What are the solutions and how can we pull more people together to work on this?” he said.

Dungy said he supports the recent postponement of games by players across professional sports in the aftermath of recent police shootings, including of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

“I think what that is doing is taking the focus away from the national anthem, away from the military and getting that message: this is not about the flag or the anthem. This is about what’s going on in our country and that’s a step in the right direction,” Dungy said.

Following two days of no games The WNBA, in its bubble in Bradenton, will resume play Friday night. The NBA plans to pick back up Saturday.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister echoed Dungy’s call for unity and lending an open ear.

“Anyone that’s in an office of authority is listening -- we hear you, we're listening and we want to make it better,” Sheriff Chronister said.

“We got to come at this from a lot of ways. But again as a country,” Dungy added.