The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

I don't think a large organization name an award after anyone else who went around campaigning for discrimination and fund-raising for organizations that work to malign classes of human beings, but we just aren't quite there yet with the gays. Also, and I know that no one's going to stop this any time soon because it's a great way to get donors, it's tacky to name an award or a building or a position after someone who's still alive.

This week former University of Minnesota quarterback [and Indianapolis Colts coach] Tony Dungy became one of only four men in the history of Big Ten football to have a postgraduate award named after him. And it isn't just another award. It's the conference's humanitarian award. That's right: In the 114-year history of the conference, of the thousands of men to play football at the member schools, the Big Ten felt the need to name their humanitarian award after a man who has actively fought against the equal rights of gay Americans.

Or as Dungy put it himself:

I'm on the Lord's side, and I appreciate IFI for the stance their taking, and I embrace that stance, and that's important.

The Indiana Family Institute doesn't just oppose same-sex marriage, which would be bad enough that they actual devote time and money to heterosexualizing the institution, but they also promote ex-gay therapy and work with SPLC-listed hate group the Family Research Council. And Dungy didn't just praise them, he helped them fund-raise off both his celebrity and his Colts memorabilia.

As far as I know Tony Dungy has never expressed any regrets about working with the Indiana Family Institute. While I'm sure he's done some sort of humanitarian work that's praise-worthy, to have the humanitarian award named after him he should have a better record.

That and he should be dead. Sorry, there's just too much ego involved in naming these things after living people.