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

Odds are Michael Sam will be the least disrupting player on the team.

It's in his interest to blend in and conform as much as possible. In the rollout of the story -- which was carefully planned -- he makes it clear that he's not interested in being an "activist".

 

There's some truth to this. Ethnic and racial groups who have been the most successful in this nation's history found a way to blend in and conform.

 

Right. Someone will make a joke or say something inappropriate about it and it will be all over the news.

"Johnny Manziel says he "doesn't care" about Michael Sam. What other inequalities doesn't Johnny Manziel care about?"

 

Rookies are discriminated against (mildly by and large) in NFL locker rooms just because they're rookies. They are Outsiders and a threat to other people's paychecks. Sam was accepted by his teammates at Missouri after coming out at least partially because he was already part of said team. If a veteran came out and was an established player, there'd be little if any internal blowback.
Anonymous scouts and front office guys diss potential draft choices every year for every known reason. It's part subterfuge, part ass-covering, and part stupidity. If Sam goes to a camp and shows he can play, social attitudes in said team will take a major leap forward.

 

Re, waiting to come out -- what creates a bigger distraction for an NFL team: Sam coming out now, before the draft? Or Sam saying something AFTER he's been drafted? I'd say he's getting a lot of the wow-a-gay-player stuff out the way now -- as well as giving NFL teams time to talk to him and assess their readiness. After all, it would not be in Sam's interest to go to a team that would not want to have him BECAUSE he's gay. He's rolling the dice a bit, but someone is going to take him.

 

Right. I'm sure when they're on the field and in meeting rooms and away from the media, he'll probably be an example of what every young player should be. But he can't control how he's covered.

 

Returning to the Burwell column of Page 8 ... and expressing my severe displeasure in YankeeFan for not commenting on it ... this is EXACTLY the kind of media trolling that people are rightly talking about.

This is yet one more example of how awkwardly those in Mizzou’s athletics department handle big issues. They had a rare opportunity to make a bold and revolutionary statement about equal opportunity. Instead, they again fumbled badly.

I hope his new NFL team treats his news with a far more progressive stance.

So ... guy wants to be one of the guys. Team totally fine with him being one of the guys. Team has one of best seasons in school history. Guy is happy and comfortable. Undoubtedly, some players and coaches who felt otherwise learned something about themselves and the world.

And to Burwell, they all did it wrong because they didn't have him announce it at the 50-yard line at halftime of the Homecoming game. Yep, that's the bullshit that will come with it.

 

This guy sounds like an idiot:

It wasn't Mizzou's decision to handle it any differently.

He sounds like a guy who is upset that ESPN and NYT got to break the news, and not him.

 

If he was dead set on coming out, the ideal time for him to come out would have been between his Pro Day and the draft. If he did so after the draft, he would risk being on a team that might not be as welcoming as other situations. Now, at least, the team that takes him will know everything going in. More than likely teams would have known that he was gay, but if he didn't tell them he was going to come out, that might not go over too well...

 

Oh, God damn it, I was typing at the same time as you.

I got distracted by lunch for a few minutes. So sue me.

 

But it's up your alley! "Aw shit, that story? That's old news. I just couldn't tell you about it."

 

I think Missouri and all of his teammates should be applauded for keeping the secret in-house and letting him come out publicly on his own terms.

Burwell is a took, and as LTL said, an early example of the media trolling that we have ahead of us. If someone like Burwell, who should know better, is like this, I can't imagine what we have ahead of us.