Michael Sam comes out

[luburch]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, but I think it deserves its own thread. Michael Sam publicly announces that he is gay and could become first openly gay player in NFL history. I salute him for his courage. I just can't wait for the day that this will no longer be news.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sp...raft.html?_r=0

[FerryFor50]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, but I think it deserves its own thread. Michael Sam publicly announces that he is gay and could become first openly gay player in NFL history. I salute him for his courage. I just can't wait for the day that this will no longer be news.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sp...raft.html?_r=0

Technically he's not in the NFL yet. Still needs to be drafted. Hopefully this doesn't hurt his draft stock.

Personally I would have waited until after I signed the contract.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Technically he's not in the NFL yet. Still needs to be drafted. Hopefully this doesn't hurt his draft stock.

Personally I would have waited until after I signed the contract.

Marcus Smart should be the first to congratulate Mr. Sam for announcing this now.

[gam7]

Technically he's not in the NFL yet. Still needs to be drafted. Hopefully this doesn't hurt his draft stock.

Personally I would have waited until after I signed the contract.

Well, apparently he came out to his Mizzou teammates before the college football season and his sexual orientation was already common knowledge among NFL scouts, so his coming out to the general public likely won't materially change what would have happened with his contract.

[mattman91]

Who really cares?

[bedeviled]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, but I think it deserves its own thread

I just can't wait for the day that this will no longer be news

The juxtaposition of those two lines brought me a chuckle tonight.

[luburch]

The juxtaposition of those two lines brought me a chuckle tonight.

Oh I agree. But at this point in time it is news.

[75Crazie]

Who really cares?

Unfortunately, a great number of people.

[mattman91]

Unfortunately, a great number of people.

True. But it will only continue to be a big deal as long as we make it one.

[dyedwab]

True. But it will only continue to be a big deal as long as we make it one.

No, its a big deal for a number of reasons. I'll just name a couple.

1) There has NEVER been an out gay player in the NFL. NEVER. When something has NEVER happened, when it does happen its a pretty big deal.

2) All you have to do is read some of the quotes from NFL front office people in this SI piece. They apparently think its a pretty big deal. Big enough to hurt his draft stock...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/col...m-draft-stock/

So, yeah, its a big deal.

[FerryFor50]

True. But it will only continue to be a big deal as long as we make it one.

Because it IS a big deal. Every first is big. I suppose Jackie Robinson playing in the majors wasn't that big a deal either?

As it becomes more accepted globally, then yes, the idealized notion that it shouldn't be a big deal makes sense.

[Furniture]

Who really cares?

I care! Very proud of this young man!
Fantastic!

[Atlanta Duke]

True. But it will only continue to be a big deal as long as we make it one.

I respectfully disagree - it is a "big deal" as long as any player is required to hide being gay in order to deal with this sort of bigotry quoted in the SI.com article linked above

"I don't think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet," said an NFL player personnel assistant. "In the coming decade or two, it's going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it's still a man's-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/col...#ixzz2st5kvJhC

As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan I am proud to see my team on this short list of teams

The former general manager said that it would take an NFL franchise with a strong owner, savvy general manager and veteran coach to make drafting Sam work. He rattled off franchises like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, San Francisco, Baltimore and Indianapolis as potential destinations.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/col...ock/?eref=sihp

[Dukehky]

Wow. I am shocked that the first time an active/prospective professional player to announce he is gay (Collins probably wouldn't have gotten an offer in the NBA anyway) is a football player. I'm extremely impressed by Mike Sam's courage.

I don't think this will actually hurt his draft stock, but I hope his future teammates are as supportive as his Missouri teammates appeared to be from the NYT article. The ESPN show from 2005 Playmakers opened my eyes to this possibility, but it takes a remarkable person to be comfortable, confident, and courageous enough to be the first at anything, let alone something as monumental as this. This is monumental, and calling it anything but, denigrates this young man's courage.

[DueBlevil]

The attitude of "why is this such a big deal," and "why can't he just keep his sexuality to himself" is EXACTLY why this is a big deal.

I can understand why people who have never been the victim of homophobia don't understand why this is noteworthy.

But you have to understand that playing in the NFL is, to many, the antithesis of being a gay male. Those people are wrong, but public perception won't change until more people like Michael Sam have the courage to do what he did.

Please stop being part of the selfish bully pulpit that wants to silence these men and women for making a public statement that might not mean anything to you but is immensely meaningful to thousands of kids and adults around this country.

I'm sure ESPN reports on plenty of things you "don't care about" every day, and you don't put up a fuss. If you want to ignore this, that's fine, but don't try to silence it.

[moonpie23]

good for him…….walls are coming down…..

[Waynne]

Quite right, and it takes courageous people like Michael Sam and Jason Collins to make the walls come down.

[Edouble]

But you have to understand that playing in the NFL is, to many, the antithesis of being a gay male. Those people are wrong, but public perception won't change until more people like Michael Sam have the courage to do what he did.

Please stop being part of the selfish bully pulpit that wants to silence these men and women for making a public statement that might not mean anything to you but is immensely meaningful to thousands of kids and adults around this country.

This is spot on. Very well said. Bravo!

[throatybeard]

First, a second for the "intensely meaningful" folks on this thread.

Second, my friend and I talked about this at the bar tonight. We both follow MU but not that closely, him more closely than I do. We both felt that it's tremendously important that Sam gets drafted as high as possible and does as well as possible, and we both hoped that the Rams could have a use for him in like the 3R. It's so sad that everyone is like "well, Jason Collins came out, but that doesn't count, because he hasn't played in the NBA since then." Sam is a great college player (SEC POY), but making the NFL is really hard.

As long as it matters how well you do and that is mapped on the group that society says you're in, progress isn't happening much. Ask women in any number of fields.

These guys are pioneers, but I don't think things will change in sports until all the excellent athletes who happen to be gay are always out, and the league just routinely has a percentage of gay dudes who somewhat mirror the national percentage. The Chicago survey estimated that about 1 in 20 of us are gay/lesbian, and more people than that are bi.

Anyway, I'm a huge Sam fan now.

[BD80]

Good for Sam. The information would have surfaced before the draft, so I think it was smart for him to own the announcement. The timing is good with the Olympics conflicting with Russia's less progressive attitudes. Also, the Ingconito/Martin issue will make the NFL far more sensitive to the locker-room atmosphere. The NFL will generally be supportive, hoping this will work.

One problem is that roster spots are precious in the NFL, and many teams won't or can't handle the increased media attention. While there would be much to gain in some cities in PR value, most cities which would have an increase in ticket sales due to a gay player already sell out. The teams that need to boost ticket sales are in cities that may not be as accepting or don't have the right structure to handle the circus that will ensue.

I hope the Steelers do get Sam, an "undersized" DE at 6'2" with a motor and was SEC defensive player of the year (James Harrison?). Maybe if the Steelers promise to take him in the 6th round, the NFL will "forget" to further penalize the Steelers for Tomlin's on field stroll during a game.