Dungy Critical Of NFL Decision To Mandate Promo Appearance

Colts coach Tony Dungy “took exception to an NFL decision that kept first-round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez from participating in this weekend’s mandatory three-day minicamp” so he could attend Reebok’s Player Rookie Premier, a “major event for the league and its sponsors,” according to Mike Chappell of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Dungy: “It’s a bad message.” Thirty-five players selected in the NFL draft were invited to the event and “invitations were mandatory” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/19). In S.F., Gwen Knapp wrote the NFL “ordered elite draft picks to come to L.A. to pose for trading-card pictures and hobnob with sponsors rather than attending minicamps with their teams.” Knapp: “The NFL happily will buy into the cult of individualism, borrowing from [NBA Commissioner] David Stern’s playbook and cribbing [MLB Commissioner] Bud Selig’s notes. ... This event is a vanity project for a privileged class, elevating one type of player over another” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/20).