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

To go back to that question -- when would be the best time for him to come out? The best time is whenever HE is ready. And after being out to his teammates for a season, but not the public at large, he was ready.

 

I suspect someone will come out in the next year. They may want to see what happens with Sam. They may want to wait until several of them can do it at the same time.

 

If this is sincere (how does one judge on a tweet?) and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, that's nice to see.

Was watching some random HS reunion movie with the Mrs. last night (10 years) and there was some lout who was always the big jock A-hole who 10 yrs later is the same; that's who I perceive Incognito to be. Now can he change? I hope so. He's no doubt a good player.

Luckily for Sam, he's tough as nails, likely quite different from a Jonathan Martin, so he'll be unafraid to smoke some guy who tries to give him the treatment.

 

I think it will be sooner.

Any established vet who waits for a year while this kid takes all the heat will look a little shallow. I know that sounds tough, but I really think someone else comes forward in the next few days.

 

Good column by Frank Bruni- "Panic In The Locker Room"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/opinion/bruni-panic-in-the-locker-room.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

 

Shallow, gay, and in the closet is no way to go through life, eh Devil?

 

Charles Haley was a 4th round pick as LB / DE. Worked out
pretty good for him and the teams that he played for.

 

It would be a good time for an active player to come out because they won't be around until mini-camps, so by the time they show up, it's essentially old news... With Sam, there's the declaration, and then the combine and then the pro day and then the endless speculation about where he'll go and then he arrives on a new team and a whole different set of stories has to be written.

If an active player comes out, it becomes, "Oh, you've been here the last five years and the world didn't end? Hmmm... Maybe this really isn't that complicated..."

 

Patriots, Packers and Eagles all have said they would welcome Sam to their teams if they thought he could help them win.

Three of the best franchises in the NFL, so there's no surprise there. I don't doubt they're all being honest, but what do we expect them to say?

 

That might be a more useless story than Twitter hate.

 

Between this & the Schilling thread, I was wondering: Which athletes (probably mostly retired) could come out of the closet, and have everyone doubt if it was true?