Tony Dungy Calls Out Harris: ‘What Faith Says a Baby in the Womb Is Not a Life?

By: Sarah Holliday, originally published September 23, 2024, The Washington Stand

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the official 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, posted on X last week, “One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree: The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.” In other words, Harris believes you can have faith and abortions — no big deal, right? Except, this is a big deal.

According to Scripture, having faith in the one true God means that you can’t support abortion, as it is the intentional killing of babies in the womb. With the sixth commandment, God made it incredibly clear: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). There is hardly any other proof necessary to establish the reality that, to support abortion, you would have to “abandon” your faith.

As a professing Christian, Hall of Fame NFL coach Tony Dungy understands this. In fact, despite his prominent role on NBC’s “Football Night in America” show, Dungy openly criticized the vice president’s comment. “Dear VP Harris: I hear you make this statement all the time,” he wrote on X. “Exactly what ‘faith’ are you talking about when you say you don’t have to abandon it to support abortion?”

He went on to make his case: “Are you talking about the Christian faith that says all babies are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26), that God places them in the womb (Jer 1:5) and that we should not take any life unjustly (Luke 18:20)? Are you talking about that faith or some nebulous, general ‘faith’ that says we’re good enough, and smart enough to make our own decisions?”

Again, he pressed, “What ‘faith’ are you talking about?”

To no one’s surprise, Dungy’s post received almost immediate pushback. A stream of patronizing questions flooded the comments, such as one user asking, “Tony, what does the Bible [say] about judging others?” Another commented, “You sure you want to go there?” Others chimed in, calling Dungy a “fake Christian” who had no business sharing his thoughts on the matter.

At the end of the day, Dungy asked a rather simple question. As he put it, “What faith says that taking a life is OK? And what faith says a baby in the womb is not a life?” Unfortunately, his critics did not answer that question for him. But David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, happily answered the question in comments to The Washington Stand.

“Legendary football coach Tony Dungy is exactly right,” Closson stated. “The Christian Scripture is abundantly clear when it comes to the topic of abortion” — with “passages such as Psalm 139:13-16 and Luke 1:39-45” being only some of what “unequivocally affirms the sanctity of unborn life.” So, when Dungy expressed that children are made in the image of God and that it is not permissible to murder them, “Dungy was exactly right in terms of the Bible’s position.”

Closson continued to say that Dungy was also correct when he said in order “to be authentically Christian, you ought to affirm a pro-life position.” Because in reality, “2,000 years of church history stand firmly behind the famous football coach’s comments.”

In response to those who felt the coach had no business sharing his beliefs and “imposing” them on others, Closson noted, “Dungy is entitled to share his opinion on any number of issues” because “all of us have freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the United States Constitution.” But in a world where “the vast majority of celebrities are leftist, and it is almost assumed that celebrities support Democratic candidates,” it’s almost “an anomaly when a well-known personality speaks to an issue from a conservative perspective.”

And because outspoken conservative celebrities are so rare, those that do speak their mind (such as Dungy) often face ridicule. According to Closson, this isn’t surprising. However, “it is hypocritical for people to critique Tony Dungy when he provides his opinion on any number of political and cultural issues, but not critique Oprah Winfrey when she hosts a town hall for Kamala Harris and supports abortion and any number of liberal issues.”

As we’ve witnessed recently, when Christians do speak out, the result is often overwhelmingly supportive. Take Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who gave a powerful graduation speech earlier this year about the importance of his faith and motherhood, Joe Biden’s phony Catholicism, the horrors of abortion and transgenderism, and the church’s refusal to speak out on the moral issues of the day. While Hollywood and other celebrities excoriated him, the public rushed to embrace him — buying his jerseys at a record pace. Last week, the NFL Players Association confirmed that Butker beat out his famous teammate (and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), Travis Kelsey, in league-licensed sales — coming in 11th of all players, a resounding show of support for the proudly Catholic dad. 

Like Butker, Dungy has been described as an “outspoken Christian” who is not shy in using his platform to advocate for Christian values. He’s adopted eight children, fostered over 100, and has long supported and defended pro-life matters. Surely, the criticism he received was nothing new. However, it did serve as yet another opportunity to promote God’s truth in an arena full of deceit.

Not to mention, Closson added, that “it is altogether unsurprising that our increasingly secular culture does not like it when someone expresses an opinion that contradicts the mainstream narrative.” But regarding the former NFL coach, “Dungy has lived his life in the public spotlight, and I commend the coach for articulating his convictions in a compelling and articulate way.”

Ultimately, Closson concluded, “I hope American Christians understand that he is exactly right when he says that faithful Christians ought to oppose abortion, because it is antithetical to the Christian message.”

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.