Michael Sam makes American football history

[Jingthing]

There have been gay pro American football players before but NEVER one who has come out while still actively playing and certainly none BEFORE even being chosen for a team.

Michael Sam is destined to be a professional American football player.

He would be if he weren't gay and there is no reason to think he won't be as an OUT gay man.

It would be a major scandal if he is not picked for a pro team.

Of course, you never know, he could injured or there might be other objective performance issues that keep him from a pro career. But not likely!

Back in the day I personally met DAVE KOPAY.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kopay

I never imagined it would take THIS LONG after that for something like this to happen, but it did.

So there it is.

Yes, in American culture, this kind of thing is a BIG DEAL. (Like it or not.)

SOCHI, Russia

COLUMN | All-American defensive end Michael Sam is one very large piece of gay propaganda — at 255 pounds he might be arrested in Vladimir Putin’s Russia just for stepping on a scale. It’s a supreme irony of Sam’s coming-out that some people in the NFL are afraid to use their own names in talking about him and their Putin-like fears that he might “chemically imbalance” the fragile musky environment of male locker rooms. When is one of those guys going to come out? You got something to say, say it like a gay man.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/michael-sams-courageous-decision-to-come-out-resonates-from-the-nfl-to-sochi/2014/02/10/e6cc1c1e-927c-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html

Edited February 10, 2014 by Jingthing

[NeverSure]

Never heard of him so I just looked him up. He's a good player but not a great one. NFL teams may see him as too short to play professional linebacker. He played lousy in the Senior Bowl. He's ranked 160th in draft prospects.

As an NFL wannabe, he might be a dud or he might be a really good player.

Who cares if he's gay? Must be a slow news day.

[sustento]

Never heard of him so I just looked him up. He's a good player but not a great one. NFL teams may see him as too short to play professional linebacker. He played lousy in the Senior Bowl. He's ranked 160th in draft prospects.

As an NFL wannabe, he might be a dud or he might be a really good player.

Who cares if he's gay? Must be a slow news day.

Herm Edwards apparently...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/michael-sam-herm-edwards_n_4760565.html

[Scott]

<snipped> NFL teams may see him as too short to play....<snipped>.

Too short? What's too short?

[Jingthing]

Never heard of him so I just looked him up. He's a good player but not a great one. NFL teams may see him as too short to play professional linebacker. He played lousy in the Senior Bowl. He's ranked 160th in draft prospects.

As an NFL wannabe, he might be a dud or he might be a really good player.

Who cares if he's gay? Must be a slow news day.

That's absurd. It's HUGE news, Why come on the gay forum and create a fiction that this isn't a big deal? It seems mean spirited and it's definitely not true.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/02/10/football_player_mike_sam_gay_which_lucky_nfl_franchise_will_sign_him.html

I hate to make this all about money, but that’s the force that governs professional sports. Mike Sam represents a one-time opportunity for the lucky franchise who drafts him. As Slate’s Josh Levin explained eloquently on Sunday, that’s based on his athletic talent alone. While Sam will inevitably face discrimination and struggles along the way, even the most thick-skulled fans will eventually realize that solid statistics and pure athleticism have nothing to do with sexual orientation. By the time the 100th gay player comes out of the closet, the question won’t be whether he will be drafted, but only whether he can score. Mike Sam, on the other hand, was a hero even before he made his first tackle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?_r=0

Now Mr. Sam enters an uncharted area of the sports landscape. He is making his public declaration before he is drafted, to the potential detriment to his professional career. And he is doing so as he prepares to enter a league with an overtly macho culture, where controversies over homophobia have attracted recent attention.

As the pace of the gay rights movement has accelerated in recent years, the sports industry has changed relatively little for men, with no publicly gay athletes in the N.F.L., the N.B.A., the N.H.L. or Major League Baseball. Against this backdrop, Mr. Sam could become a symbol for the country’s gay rights movement or a flash point in a football culture war — or both.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

<snipped> NFL teams may see him as too short to play....<snipped>.

Too short? What's too short?

As mentioned in the New York Times, he may be seen as suitable for a DIFFERENT position than he plays now in college.

Nobody is suggesting he doesn't have a great level of talent that would NORMALLY attract being picked by a team, almost definitely.

There is NO WAY he won't be picked by one team (unless something else comes up of course like a serious injury).

If he isn't they will have created much more of a negative publicity FIRESTORM for the entire American football brand than any controversy from have ONE out gay player on ONE team.

Not suggesting he should be picked just because he's gay.

I am suggesting if he ISN'T picked just for being gay when he NORMALLY would be picked, there will be a BIG STINK.

You know this is similar to when black baseball players broke the COLOR LINE. Was that a big deal for Americans? Yes. HUGE.

Also, yes, the American gay civil rights movement needs HEROES and SYMBOLS. This fine young man appears to be poised to be one of the greatest.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[hanno]

I think he blew any chance he had of making the draft, no matter what the NFL says publicly. Sad, but true.

[Jingthing]

I think he blew any chance he had of making the draft, no matter what the NFL says publicly. Sad, but true.

I'd bet a LOT of money that you're wrong. I think he's an even HOTTER ticket now. Maybe it would have been more politic to come out AFTER being settled on a team, but doing it this way is in some ways more powerful. Also, now he doesn't have to deal with the stress of coming out later, whatever team he joins and he WILL be joining a team, will have explicitly WELCOMED him.

The fact that he is a black man adds another interesting element to this as well.

As mentioned before, the history of the COLOR LINE in baseball and also the fact that black Americans are statistically less gay tolerant than white ones.

I think this will help with that, that black Americans will GET the discrimination aspect of this story, even though it has nothing to do with him being black (obviously).

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[hanno]

Let's see. I hope so.

[isanbirder]

I have nothing against this man.... and I know nothing about NFL. Nor am I doubting your posts about him, Jingthing, just putting my point-of-view, which I'm sure many people share!

Black, gay.... left-handed? Christian? Somehow I find this spotlighting of minority achievers rather distasteful (I know I shouldn't have put Christian there, but he would be in a minority on TV!).

It must be my self-effacing British nature!

[sustento]

<snipped> NFL teams may see him as too short to play....<snipped>.

Too short? What's too short?

I can always check him out if necessary. I'm an expert.

[Jingthing]

If he succeeds in this, he lays the groundwork for the future when it WON'T be big news for there to be many OUT gay American football players.

But now still, there isn't even one. Hoping he will really be the first one.

As far as the black thing in American sports -- that is an issue far into the PAST, dude!

That was an example from HISTORY that when the barriers are broken it is a very big deal.

And then later hopefully it is not even news anymore.

Of course NOBODY considers blacks a minority in American pro sports! That's a hilarious concept.

This is the same old argument here.

Some obviously very "conservative" POVs that find it distasteful that being gay is part of a person's public identity.

Sorry, but that's the way it is.

People will notice if you're dating guys vs. girls.

If you're afraid they'll notice, if you justifiably think being outed might kill your career, you do the closet thing.

The closet thing is emotionally very painful for many.

The gay identity thing isn't going away any time SOON, whether you find it distasteful or not.

Michael Sam is already a hero and role model to PROUD gay people all over the world. He faces a rough ride, he will face many haters, but I think he'll make it through and be the pioneer in this:

http://www.advocate.com/sports/2014/02/10/15-most-hateful-tweets-about-nfl-hopeful-michael-sam-coming-out

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

It's gonna be interesting, that's for sure:

On Sunday, University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam was rated as the 90th-best prospect in May’s National Football League draft. The next morning, the 24-year-old all-American had slipped to No. 160.

Only one thing had changed: On Sunday night, Sam announced he is gay.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/michael-sams-announcement-prompts-nfl-to-examine-what-it-considers-a-distraction/2014/02/10/e5f6d088-9293-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

I still think he'll get picked. My bet is to the WASHINGTON REDSKINS.

[Scott]

I can't stand (American) Football. It's pretty close to the most horrible thing on earth to watch. I have never been able to make it through a full game -- even with copious amounts of alcohol. But a openly gay football player would be a great leap forward.

I hope he gets it and if he does I will try one more time to watch a game, but one in which he is playing.

[Jingthing]

That's funny. I grew up a crazed fan. Played street football as a kid, always QB. But about age 35 I just decided watching sports was a waste of time. I still like the world cup and men's gymnastics natch.

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Scott]

Well, yes, I can watch soccer endlessly, but those are nice looking, buff guys in shorts, but I have no idea what the rules of the game are. Oh and men's swimming, particularly diving is quite interesting to. Gymnastics is pretty interesting, too.

But it will be nice to see what happens when this guy pats a team member on the behind....or even better yet, to see who pats him on the behind.

[sustento]

Well, yes, I can watch soccer endlessly, but those are nice looking, buff guys in shorts, but I have no idea what the rules of the game are.

http://www.offside-ref.co.uk/laws/11-offside-rule/detailed/

[Jingthing]

No matter, how this turns out, Mr. Sam is a HERO and a pioneer. He may pay for this but it's another step along the road towards equal treatment for gay people.

http://blog.sfgate.com/killion/2014/02/10/is-the-nfl-ready-for-gay-player-michael-sam-missouri-was/

To say that Sam, 24, is brave doesn’t quite begin to cover it. He is taking a step that many older, more financially secure men and women have failed to take. He is on the cusp of an extremely lucrative career and his decision to speak out and be honest could have a major impact on his ability to pursue his trade and his opportunity to set up his family financially.

The riches in front of him are tangible. For example, Cory Lemonier – a player who is the same size as Sam, and played defensive end in the SEC and was selected in the third round last year, the same round where many have projected Sam – signed a four-year $2.7 million contract last April. That’s a lot of money for your first job out of college.

So Sam, who grew up in Hitchcock, Texas, has a lot to lose. He’s the first member of his family to go to college. The seventh of eight children, three of his siblings are dead and two are in prison. He has so much on his plate already and he just willingly added more.

But he, as with so many people of his generation, isn’t willing to live a lie just because his truth may make some others uncomfortable.

“I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it,” Sam told the New York Times. “I just want my own truth.”

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

I hope this guy is right.

THE FUTURE OF MICHAEL SAM’S WIKIPEDIA PAGE, AND US We will eventually stop congratulating ourselves for our newfound tolerance long enough to truly accept Michael Sam. And the encyclopedia will prove it.
...
It’ll be even lower on the Wikipedia page of the fifth or sixth gay player to come out — maybe in the section next to “philanthropy” and “hobbies. ” Those out player will invariably follow now, in short order. It will be a footnote, or it might not be there at all.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/news/future-of-michael-sam?click=promo

But we're not there yet!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sam

[Jingthing]

As I implied before, it IS more powerful and politically helpful that Michael Sam is ALSO a black man.

It ties the ongoing gay civil rights movement to the more successful African-American civil rights movement more in the general public's mind.

The American gay civil rights movement has always used that as a general model to generally copy (even though not so appreciated by many black Americans).

The American gay civil rights movement has always needed more heroes.

It never had a gay Martin Luther King (Harvey Milk was the closest) but now it has a gay JACKIE ROBINSON.

(CNN) -- A year ago in an interview with CNN's Carol Costello, I said it would take a difference-maker, a Rosa Parks or a Jackie Robinson-like figure, to stand up for what is right and break the ice so real progress can be made in the battle for equality in professional sports.

Twelve shorts months later, we get to meet that courageous person, the one who is creating positive change and breaking down barriers before our very eyes.

Like Parks or Robinson, Michael Sam is a difference-maker.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/10/opinion/wire-michael-sam/index.html?hpt=isp_c2

Edited February 12, 2014 by Jingthing

[Scott]

I bet some of those politicians in Africa don't like that he's a black man, though.

[Jingthing]

It would be REALLY interesting if he gets picked up by MIAMI!

As opposed to getting picked up IN Miami which I would heartily recommend!

An inquiry into the Miami Dolphins’ workplace conditions found examples of harassment, racism, bullying, homophobia and overall a culture of intolerance in one National Football League locker room — precisely the kind of image the league has been trying to put in its past.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-commissioned-report-finds-culture-of-intolerance-in-miami-dolphins-locker-room/2014/02/14/5d10bf3c-95a8-11e3-afce-3e7c922ef31e_story.html

[Jingthing]

His first public appearance since coming out.

Met by one of the most notorious hate groups in the USA (Westboro Baptist Church), supporters support him, and then this:

It seems like he's got the right stuff!

http://www.advocate.com/sports/2014/02/16/hundreds-stand-michael-sam-against-westboro-demonstration

[robertthebruce]

Might start watching football now, he is kind of cute...

[Jingthing]

I suppose it's fortunate that he doesn't play CENTER position:

[Scott]

Maybe he does play center....just not in football.

[sustento]

You mean he plays in the sandwich position?

[Jingthing]

OK.

History was made.

Sam was drafted by the St. Louis RAMS.

However, he was drafted much later than would have been expected for his skill level.

Also, there is the KISS video.

Edited out by mass media.

Also, the RAMS already have a strong defense ... he could still easily be cut.

It would have been better for him to be drafted by a team with a weaker defense.

Well, that's football I guess.

Good luck to him.

He's gonna need it!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/05/10/michael_sam_kiss_the_st_louis_rams_pick_the_openly_gay_missouri_star_in.html

[Jingthing]

Now the pressure is on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C75q_7TVmCk

He's with the Rams. Hmmm.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

This is interesting.

Sam's merch is flying off the shelves!

http://www.advocate.com/sports/2014/05/12/michael-sam-and-johnny-footballs-jerseys-fly-shelves

The RAMS might need to keep him regardless just to sell the merch!

I'm not suggesting he deserves a position any more than any other player if he can't cut it.

However I do question why he got picked so late.

Yes, I think we know the reason.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Jingthing