Michael Sam Says He Is Gay; May Become First Publicly Gay Player in N.F.L.

[IllMil]

You can be a great college player and not be a very good pro prospect. It happens every year.

Yeah, nobody has him ranked as the top DE prospect even on his own team.

But I don't know anyone who saw him going below the 5th. If he goes undrafted, the league will not look good.

Why do I get the feeling that this guy's abilities took a quantum leap in your estimation the moment his sexual orientation became public?

Because you aren't smart? I don't know anything about his ability. I just know that he was projected to be drafted by nearly everybody. Some had him as high as the first. Most had him 3-5.

 

[RickStain]

You can be a great college player and not be a very good pro prospect. It happens every year.

Yeah, nobody has him ranked as the top DE prospect even on his own team.

But I don't know anyone who saw him going below the 5th. If he goes undrafted, the league will not look good.

Why do I get the feeling that this guy's abilities took a quantum leap in your estimation the moment his sexual orientation became public?

Because you aren't smart? I don't know anything about his ability. I just know that he was projected to be drafted by nearly everybody. Some had him as high as the first. Most had him 3-5.

Again I ask: How common is it for guys with that profile to end up undrafted?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

A bad combine for Sam will be when there are more people trying to talk to him than Clowney, Manziel and Bridgewater.

 

[Boom_70]

A bad combine for Sam will be when there are more people trying to talk to him than Clowney, Manziel and Bridgewater.

That's also a bad combine for The NFL.

 

[LongTimeListener]

A bad combine for Sam will be when there are more people trying to talk to him than Clowney, Manziel and Bridgewater.

Te'o had a terrible combine, he was supposed to be this horrible distraction, and he went in the second round. Maybe even higher than his projected spot.

 

[Paynendearse]

Through no fault of his own, he will be a distraction. Tim Tebow was a distraction. The distraction factor comes in when 1. medial types from outside football all of a sudden want to cover your team and 2. media/fans want you to play/not play regardless of ability. Tebow (who was a crappy NFL quarterback) fit both of these. Sam fits both of these. That's not fair, but it is real.

If his teammates didn't care, didn't see it as a big deal, then why should the media make it a distraction/big deal?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

There are guys projected to be drafted every year who wind up as free agents. I know of a player who was projected by everyone as a top 50 pick who wound up going in the seventh round. We found out a couple weeks later that he failed a drug test at the combine, which is usually a pretty big red flag because when the guys know they're going to be tested, a positive test shows they're both stupid and reckless...

There are also countless other guys who fall for various reasons. Maybe they're undersized, maybe they're slow, maybe there are questions about their work ethic, maybe they have a reputation for being high maintenance, one of the biggest reasons is because they have a play a different position in the NFL than they did in college, which they've been saying about Sam.

But none of those reasons matter now because every team that passes on the guy after the fourth or fifth round will be doing so, in the eyes of GLAAD and the LBGT groups because they're homophobic.

Would you want to be the GM who might have to cut Sam if he's not able to make the team. Fifth-rounders get cut all the time by teams that draft them. There are instances where third and fourth-rounders get cut, although it's not the norm.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

If an NFL GM wouldn't draft Sam because he's afraid to cut him, then either said GM, his owner, or both are gutless losers and God help that team's fans. Of course, based on the absolute unwillingness of any people in that SI article to be quoted, there are quite a few gutless losers in NFL front offices.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Through no fault of his own, he will be a distraction. Tim Tebow was a distraction. The distraction factor comes in when 1. medial types from outside football all of a sudden want to cover your team and 2. media/fans want you to play/not play regardless of ability. Tebow (who was a crappy NFL quarterback) fit both of these. Sam fits both of these. That's not fair, but it is real.

If his teammates didn't care, didn't see it as a big deal, then why should the media make it a distraction/big deal?

But they will. He'll be the biggest story in the NFL from now through the second he's drafted and until the season starts.

As someone else pointed out, he's going to draw more of a media circus than Tebow. You're also going to start seeing more and more news outlets that don't cover the NFL come in and write stories.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If an NFL GM wouldn't draft Sam because he's afraid to cut him, then either said GM, his owner, or both are gutless losers and God help that team's fans. Of course, based on the absolute unwillingness of any people in that SI article to be quoted, there are quite a few gutless losers in NFL front offices.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree 100 percent...

I think you would have to agree that this would not be considered normal circumstances...

 

[BenPoquette]

WalterFootball.com had him going 77th overall, third round, in the mock draft it posted on Feb. 5. Here is their breakdown: San Francisco 49ers: Michael Sam, OLB, Missouri
The 49ers grab some pass-rushing depth, which isn't a bad idea given Aldon Smith's issues.

Sam was a breakout performer for the Tigers in 2013 with 11.5 sacks. He also notched 48 tackles with 19 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and two passes broken up. Sam returned a fumble for a touchdown in Missouri's upset win over Georgia. He dominated with three-sack games against Arkansas State, Vanderbilt and Florida. The senior was shut down by Tennessee's tough offensive line.

In 2012, Sam recorded 22 tackles with 4.5 sacks, seven tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. He had 1.5 sacks as sophomore and 3.5 sacks as a freshman. For the NFL, Sam would probably fit best as a 3-4 outside linebacker.

That being said...I am tired of all this crap. I couldn't care less who he is dating and/or screwing. This has nothing to do with Sam as a football player...and there is too much money at stake in the NFL for me to think a team, if it thinks Sam is a value pick, would not take him because he is gay. It will be a media circus because, simply put, the media will create a media circus. How about worrying about football? Does anyone give a shirt about a player just because he is hetero?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Well, again... I don't think the league as a whole cares that he's gay as much as they care that he's out. There are gay players in the NFL. There have been gay coaches in the NFL and there have been gay general managers in the NFL. People don't care until it becomes a distraction.

Michael Sam will be a distraction. That's not fair. That sucks. It's complete bullshirt, but it's reality.

It's unprecedented and that's what scares teams the most. Having an established player come out would be a lot easier for the NFL to handle than this.