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

Which also meant he wasn't GAY!

 

Exactly. I recall several on this board claiming that the distraction/circus factor would be overwhelming with Te'o and should deter teams from drafting him.

Didn't happen that way at all. There was no circus, no real distraction, and he was quickly being treated like just any other Charger.

Similar story with Riley Cooper. After N-word gate, there were voices here insisting that the Eagles must cut Cooper now, there's no way he play compatibly with his teammates, far too great a distraction, and he'd surely get targeted and injured early in the season by vengeful DBs, etc.

Instead Cooper had the best season of his career, the Eagles also had a successful season, and you heard barely anything about it once the season began.

 

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1600525

George Atkinson, RB: Though his stats may not have shown it, Atkinson's body-type alone may warrant NFL teams to consider the junior. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Atkinson reportedly received a draft grade of fourth-round or lower after Irish head coach Brian Kelly submitted evaluation paperwork on Atkinson's behalf. That grade could depend on the former track star's 40-time in front of NFL scouts.

More likely, Atkinson will land as an undrafted free agent and end up in a rookie mini-camp. CBS's NFL Draft Scout rates Atkinson as the 23rd running back in this draft. Again, a 40-time reflecting his past performances on a track could help Atkinson's cause.

 

Prince Shembo, OLB: Shembo finished the Shrine Game with four tackles and remains projected as a late-round pick by most. Kiper has said he could see Shembo going as high as the fourth round. Draft Scout expects the linebacker to go in the fifth or sixth round.

 

Two gay guys on Notre Dame.

 

I don't...what's...the point you're making is what? That the second RB on ND who had by all accounts a disappointing year is likely going to be an undrafted free agent proves....

 

Look at that draft projection range.

Unprecedented.

Gay.

 

Gotcha. Comparing 3-7 and 4-undrafted. Guess that makes sense. (Though I still haven't seen 3-7 listed anywhere for him except people throwing it out here). Don't think Shembo proves your point. 4-6 isn't nearly as wide a spread as 3-7/undrafted.

 

That's pretty much all the media will do is look for someone pissing on the parade.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/ayanbadejo-coming-out-a-liberating-move-for-michael-sam-020914?related=c6f112f2-249c-42db-811a-73dde01fac7e
Did the media do Jackie a favor by covering his plight or did it fan the flames of pressure? Obviously there was going to pressure on the man as it was. Yes, there were insults hurled. Others stood up. Probably won't be any different today (although, I would bet, the intensity won't be the same as it was for Jackie). Depending on what you believe, the majority of people in this nation are fine with this now. If not, what may be justified as reporting "for the public good" may be made worse for the individual.

 

Stunning that a former Hurricanes player was the first to say something negative about Sam.

 

In case of Teo the spotlight was on him for The Combine. Camera's followed every move
that he made. His 40 was a huge event to the point of even analyzing what
John Harbaugh's head shake meant. No doubt that an even brighter spotlight will
be on Sam. The weigh in will be interesting. Event could end up being a real circus.

 

Apparently, he wouldn't have to look for Culliver. Just back up and do a more thorough job at Missouri.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1954822-michael-sam-in-the-nfl-players-execs-agree-there-are-no-easy-answers