Michael Sam

[Ramhusker]

I sure will be glad when this is not a topic anymore. Play ball!

 

[Dieter the Brock]

hahahahahahahahahhahahahaa

 

[RamFan503]

I sure will be glad when this is not a topic anymore. Play ball!

You and me both man. That and the stadium issue. They can't end soon enough.

 

[Prime Time]

You and me both man. That and the stadium issue. They can't end soon enough.

And the Sam Bradford "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" topic.

Hey Rams you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

It's always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees(pun intended)
One day is fine and next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on an' let me know
Should I Stay or should I go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's buggin' me
If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which uniform even fits me?
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqH21LEmfbQ

 

[Ramhusker]

And the Sam Bradford "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" topic.

Hey Rams you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

It's always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees(pun intended)
One day is fine and next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on an' let me know
Should I Stay or should I go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's buggin' me
If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which uniform even fits me?
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqH21LEmfbQ

Perfect!

 

[Mackeyser]

If anything, a few episodes will give Sam the bankroll to focus solely on training. A person has to make a living, right?

I used to train for triathlon and doing that while married with no kids was exhausting... Just balancing training with a job and a relationship was almost too much due to the raw number of hours each takes.

I realize some like to joke about this and some will never, ever, ever believe that Sam didn't get the same exact shot as everyone else, even though this is the same NFL that just had to discipline that coach in Minny for saying he'd put all gays on an island and nuke it until it glowed. Now, firstly, it'd be pretty naive to think his opinions or beliefs were unique just like it'd be naive to think that there aren't some really enlightened folks in the NFL like Vince Lombardi was. I'm pretty sure the Rams weren't going to draft ANY DEs until the FA period, but he'd fallen so far that they couldn't ignore it any more. Plus, I think Fisher was doing the league a solid seeing as we had two picks at 249 and 250.

And as I and CoachO have pointed out, the logistics of camp just didn't fall his way. THAT part is just part of the business and was fair. Didn't work out in Michael Sam's favor, but as far as the rest of the NFL was concerned, he should have been snapped up. I see the picks shown by Blue and Gold and I've watched the video.

Not saying Michael Sam is perfect, but it was clear that he has talent. NFL level talent.

If he goes to Canada...okay. If he gets on an NFL roster this year? okay. If he does DWTS and then goes either route...okay.

I usually find it's the road to trouble to question someone's motives. If Sam says he's committed to football, I'll believe him until he gives me a reason to disbelieve him. He certainly seems to be working very hard.

Frankly, it will be the same with the next openly gay player. And this set a very bad precedent. Co-SEC Defensive POY, slotted to go 3-4 round... comes out...NOT BECAUSE he wanted the attention (that part really irritates me when folks say that. It's the only part of this that makes me viscerally upset), but because he was open at Missouri (as in not just openly stating it to his teammates, but going to gay bars and living openly in the community as gay) and he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control. He certainly didn't want to have to answer the same basic questions 1000 times over, so he held that press conference. Anyone who's had kids will understand "listen, I'm only going to say this once..." Well, the precedent was bad because no sooner than he came out than every eval that was written about him got backtracked and all of a sudden, he was a marginal player. A straight Michael Sam would have been drafted by the 4th round by someone and would have been on someone's 53 and no one would have thought twice about it. Sam's better than the tweener Seattle got in the 4th from UCLA, for example. No one said "boo" about that guy.

So tell me, other than the next Aaron Rodgers/Peyton Manning type who's all, but guaranteed to not only lead a franchise to multiple Super Bowls, but have a HoF career, what gay football player would be CRAZY enough to come out?

No one's a sure thing in the draft. That's for sure.

And the 24 hour news cycle loves to make Everest out of mole hills.

So, even if you have a young man who's a sure fire top 10 guy... if that guy comes out... guarantee for some teams, he's DND and for others, he drops precipitously... for no other reason than that he's GAY, certainly no football reason. I mean, in 2015, we still see parents throw away, sometimes violently, their gay kids. Do we really expect the NFL to be that much more enlightened than society?

We've got a LONG way to go on this and anyone who thinks we've come so far because... Will and Grace and... Sam got drafted... misses the point.

 

[shaunpinney]

If anything, a few episodes will give Sam the bankroll to focus solely on training. A person has to make a living, right?

I used to train for triathlon and doing that while married with no kids was exhausting... Just balancing training with a job and a relationship was almost too much due to the raw number of hours each takes.

I realize some like to joke about this and some will never, ever, ever believe that Sam didn't get the same exact shot as everyone else, even though this is the same NFL that just had to discipline that coach in Minny for saying he'd put all gays on an island and nuke it until it glowed. Now, firstly, it'd be pretty naive to think his opinions or beliefs were unique just like it'd be naive to think that there aren't some really enlightened folks in the NFL like Vince Lombardi was. I'm pretty sure the Rams weren't going to draft ANY DEs until the FA period, but he'd fallen so far that they couldn't ignore it any more. Plus, I think Fisher was doing the league a solid seeing as we had two picks at 249 and 250.

And as I and CoachO have pointed out, the logistics of camp just didn't fall his way. THAT part is just part of the business and was fair. Didn't work out in Michael Sam's favor, but as far as the rest of the NFL was concerned, he should have been snapped up. I see the picks shown by Blue and Gold and I've watched the video.

Not saying Michael Sam is perfect, but it was clear that he has talent. NFL level talent.

If he goes to Canada...okay. If he gets on an NFL roster this year? okay. If he does DWTS and then goes either route...okay.

I usually find it's the road to trouble to question someone's motives. If Sam says he's committed to football, I'll believe him until he gives me a reason to disbelieve him. He certainly seems to be working very hard.

Frankly, it will be the same with the next openly gay player. And this set a very bad precedent. Co-SEC Defensive POY, slotted to go 3-4 round... comes out...NOT BECAUSE he wanted the attention (that part really irritates me when folks say that. It's the only part of this that makes me viscerally upset), but because he was open at Missouri (as in not just openly stating it to his teammates, but going to gay bars and living openly in the community as gay) and he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control. He certainly didn't want to have to answer the same basic questions 1000 times over, so he held that press conference. Anyone who's had kids will understand "listen, I'm only going to say this once..." Well, the precedent was bad because no sooner than he came out than every eval that was written about him got backtracked and all of a sudden, he was a marginal player. A straight Michael Sam would have been drafted by the 4th round by someone and would have been on someone's 53 and no one would have thought twice about it. Sam's better than the tweener Seattle got in the 4th from UCLA, for example. No one said "boo" about that guy.

So tell me, other than the next Aaron Rodgers/Peyton Manning type who's all, but guaranteed to not only lead a franchise to multiple Super Bowls, but have a HoF career, what gay football player would be CRAZY enough to come out?

No one's a sure thing in the draft. That's for sure.

And the 24 hour news cycle loves to make Everest out of mole hills.

So, even if you have a young man who's a sure fire top 10 guy... if that guy comes out... guarantee for some teams, he's DND and for others, he drops precipitously... for no other reason than that he's GAY, certainly no football reason. I mean, in 2015, we still see parents throw away, sometimes violently, their gay kids. Do we really expect the NFL to be that much more enlightened than society?

We've got a LONG way to go on this and anyone who thinks we've come so far because... Will and Grace and... Sam got drafted... misses the point.

Excellent post @Mackeyser - I've been slated for saying that Sam is good enough to be in an NFL starting lineup - the only thing holding him back is his sexuality. I'm for Sam doing DWTS, get the money while he can, because it looks like he's not coming back to the NFL, even though IMHO, he's good enough.

 

[Memento]

If anything, a few episodes will give Sam the bankroll to focus solely on training. A person has to make a living, right?

I used to train for triathlon and doing that while married with no kids was exhausting... Just balancing training with a job and a relationship was almost too much due to the raw number of hours each takes.

I realize some like to joke about this and some will never, ever, ever believe that Sam didn't get the same exact shot as everyone else, even though this is the same NFL that just had to discipline that coach in Minny for saying he'd put all gays on an island and nuke it until it glowed. Now, firstly, it'd be pretty naive to think his opinions or beliefs were unique just like it'd be naive to think that there aren't some really enlightened folks in the NFL like Vince Lombardi was. I'm pretty sure the Rams weren't going to draft ANY DEs until the FA period, but he'd fallen so far that they couldn't ignore it any more. Plus, I think Fisher was doing the league a solid seeing as we had two picks at 249 and 250.

And as I and CoachO have pointed out, the logistics of camp just didn't fall his way. THAT part is just part of the business and was fair. Didn't work out in Michael Sam's favor, but as far as the rest of the NFL was concerned, he should have been snapped up. I see the picks shown by Blue and Gold and I've watched the video.

Not saying Michael Sam is perfect, but it was clear that he has talent. NFL level talent.

If he goes to Canada...okay. If he gets on an NFL roster this year? okay. If he does DWTS and then goes either route...okay.

I usually find it's the road to trouble to question someone's motives. If Sam says he's committed to football, I'll believe him until he gives me a reason to disbelieve him. He certainly seems to be working very hard.

Frankly, it will be the same with the next openly gay player. And this set a very bad precedent. Co-SEC Defensive POY, slotted to go 3-4 round... comes out...NOT BECAUSE he wanted the attention (that part really irritates me when folks say that. It's the only part of this that makes me viscerally upset), but because he was open at Missouri (as in not just openly stating it to his teammates, but going to gay bars and living openly in the community as gay) and he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control. He certainly didn't want to have to answer the same basic questions 1000 times over, so he held that press conference. Anyone who's had kids will understand "listen, I'm only going to say this once..." Well, the precedent was bad because no sooner than he came out than every eval that was written about him got backtracked and all of a sudden, he was a marginal player. A straight Michael Sam would have been drafted by the 4th round by someone and would have been on someone's 53 and no one would have thought twice about it. Sam's better than the tweener Seattle got in the 4th from UCLA, for example. No one said "boo" about that guy.

So tell me, other than the next Aaron Rodgers/Peyton Manning type who's all, but guaranteed to not only lead a franchise to multiple Super Bowls, but have a HoF career, what gay football player would be CRAZY enough to come out?

No one's a sure thing in the draft. That's for sure.

And the 24 hour news cycle loves to make Everest out of mole hills.

So, even if you have a young man who's a sure fire top 10 guy... if that guy comes out... guarantee for some teams, he's DND and for others, he drops precipitously... for no other reason than that he's GAY, certainly no football reason. I mean, in 2015, we still see parents throw away, sometimes violently, their gay kids. Do we really expect the NFL to be that much more enlightened than society?

We've got a LONG way to go on this and anyone who thinks we've come so far because... Will and Grace and... Sam got drafted... misses the point.

I couldn't agree with you more, Mack.

 

[fearsomefour]

If anything, a few episodes will give Sam the bankroll to focus solely on training. A person has to make a living, right?

I used to train for triathlon and doing that while married with no kids was exhausting... Just balancing training with a job and a relationship was almost too much due to the raw number of hours each takes.

I realize some like to joke about this and some will never, ever, ever believe that Sam didn't get the same exact shot as everyone else, even though this is the same NFL that just had to discipline that coach in Minny for saying he'd put all gays on an island and nuke it until it glowed. Now, firstly, it'd be pretty naive to think his opinions or beliefs were unique just like it'd be naive to think that there aren't some really enlightened folks in the NFL like Vince Lombardi was. I'm pretty sure the Rams weren't going to draft ANY DEs until the FA period, but he'd fallen so far that they couldn't ignore it any more. Plus, I think Fisher was doing the league a solid seeing as we had two picks at 249 and 250.

And as I and CoachO have pointed out, the logistics of camp just didn't fall his way. THAT part is just part of the business and was fair. Didn't work out in Michael Sam's favor, but as far as the rest of the NFL was concerned, he should have been snapped up. I see the picks shown by Blue and Gold and I've watched the video.

Not saying Michael Sam is perfect, but it was clear that he has talent. NFL level talent.

If he goes to Canada...okay. If he gets on an NFL roster this year? okay. If he does DWTS and then goes either route...okay.

I usually find it's the road to trouble to question someone's motives. If Sam says he's committed to football, I'll believe him until he gives me a reason to disbelieve him. He certainly seems to be working very hard.

Frankly, it will be the same with the next openly gay player. And this set a very bad precedent. Co-SEC Defensive POY, slotted to go 3-4 round... comes out...NOT BECAUSE he wanted the attention (that part really irritates me when folks say that. It's the only part of this that makes me viscerally upset), but because he was open at Missouri (as in not just openly stating it to his teammates, but going to gay bars and living openly in the community as gay) and he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control. He certainly didn't want to have to answer the same basic questions 1000 times over, so he held that press conference. Anyone who's had kids will understand "listen, I'm only going to say this once..." Well, the precedent was bad because no sooner than he came out than every eval that was written about him got backtracked and all of a sudden, he was a marginal player. A straight Michael Sam would have been drafted by the 4th round by someone and would have been on someone's 53 and no one would have thought twice about it. Sam's better than the tweener Seattle got in the 4th from UCLA, for example. No one said "boo" about that guy.

So tell me, other than the next Aaron Rodgers/Peyton Manning type who's all, but guaranteed to not only lead a franchise to multiple Super Bowls, but have a HoF career, what gay football player would be CRAZY enough to come out?

No one's a sure thing in the draft. That's for sure.

And the 24 hour news cycle loves to make Everest out of mole hills.

So, even if you have a young man who's a sure fire top 10 guy... if that guy comes out... guarantee for some teams, he's DND and for others, he drops precipitously... for no other reason than that he's GAY, certainly no football reason. I mean, in 2015, we still see parents throw away, sometimes violently, their gay kids. Do we really expect the NFL to be that much more enlightened than society?

We've got a LONG way to go on this and anyone who thinks we've come so far because... Will and Grace and... Sam got drafted... misses the point.

ehhh.
I agree to a point. The problem is there is no way to know someones motivation....as you stated. Dallas picked him up and by all accounts gave him a shot. Where was he practicing? DE in a 3/4....it would seem he was way too small. OLB in the 3/4....maybe not quick enough. ILB in the 3/4?....possible fit, but, he has a hard time changing direction. I still think he may stick somewhere as a OLB pass rusher in a 3/4 D. Not an every down player (so few of those left anymore). If he can put a couple of seasons together with decent sack numbers $ will come. It is impossible for anyone to say he did or did not get drafted where he did or did or did not stick somewhere because he is gay. It is all speculation.
There are really on two options to go forward with this stuff. Either mandate a change (ala affirmative action) or wait for the league to catch up to society. Large institutions are slow to change....large institutions based largely on tradition and steeped in the old boys network are even slower to change. But, they do change as society changes. I don't view Sam as a victim or as a hero. He is just a guy trying to find a spot doing something he loves. It may or may not workout. I am pulling for him as I think he was put in a bad situation (in terms of having to deal with other stuff) going into the draft and training camp and overall I think he handled himself with a good deal of class.

 

[Memento]

ehhh.
I agree to a point. The problem is there is no way to know someones motivation....as you stated. Dallas picked him up and by all accounts gave him a shot. Where was he practicing? DE in a 3/4....it would seem he was way too small. OLB in the 3/4....maybe not quick enough. ILB in the 3/4?....possible fit, but, he has a hard time changing direction. I still think he may stick somewhere as a OLB pass rusher in a 3/4 D. Not an every down player (so few of those left anymore). If he can put a couple of seasons together with decent sack numbers $ will come. It is impossible for anyone to say he did or did not get drafted where he did or did or did not stick somewhere because he is gay. It is all speculation.
There is really on two options to go forward with this stuff. Either mandate a change (ala affirmative action) or wait for the league to catch up to society. Large institutions are slow to change....large institutions based largely on tradition and steeped in the old boys network are even slower to change. But, they do change as society changes. I don't view Sam as a victim or as a hero. He is just a guy trying to find a spot doing something he loves. It may or may not workout. I am pulling for him as I think he was put in a bad situation (in terms of having to deal with other stuff) going into the draft and training camp and overall I think he handled himself with a good deal of class.

Cowboys were running a 4-3. They had defensive ends and tackles going down for the season, such as Demarcus Lawrence, Jack Crawford, and Henry Melton. They waived Lavar Edwards. They were starting Jeremy Mincey (who had injury problems throughout the entire year) and George Selvie (who was their best defensive lineman, but still largely ineffective). Anthony Spencer was on the PUP list.

They never gave Sam a shot.

 

[fearsomefour]

Cowboys were running a 4-3. They had defensive ends and tackles going down for the season, such as Demarcus Lawrence, Jack Crawford, and Henry Melton. They waived Lavar Edwards. They were starting Jeremy Mincey (who had injury problems throughout the entire year) and George Selvie (who was their best defensive lineman, but still largely ineffective). Anthony Spencer was on the PUP list.

They never gave Sam a shot.

Yeah, I forgot they switched to the 4/3 with Marinelli.
When Melton went down I thought that might get him there.
Again, we can't say, only assume.
To me, his best fit is a 3/4 pass rusher....San Diego maybe....plenty of teams need pass rushers.

 

[Mackeyser]

Yeah, with all the injuries Dallas had, I'll just say I had more than a few questions for that D that had trouble finding bodies and yet couldn't find Sam's number.and I've mentioned Selvie before. He's on his 4th team. And great for him that the former 7th round draft pick of the Rams is starting for the Cowboys. Was he better leaving USF than when Sam entered the draft? Not even close, imho.

Difference is that no one said boo to him spending a few years finding his place in the league. Sam is drafted by a team that really only has room for a swing DE/DT and still almost makes it as a PRS on one of the best DLs on football. Then he goes to Dallas where (and here's where *I* could get in trouble) I don't think they wanted to be the team in the history books to have the first openly gay player on the field.

All I know is that I discovered Michael Sam while scouting Kony Ealy and agreeing with the take that Ealy was a poser. I saw the other guy with this GREAT motor and great shoulder dip making play after play. He had issues. His hips were so tight... Almost backbrace tight, but I saw a solid football player. This was MY eval BEFORE his announcement.

So, now that we're here, I just want him to get a football shot now that folks know that he's not "a distraction" and he's not an "issue" in the locker room. And if he succeeds or fails, let it be solely on the merits of his work and his results.

 

[Memento]

Yeah, with all the injuries Dallas had, I'll just say I had more than a few questions for that D that had trouble finding bodies and yet couldn't find Sam's number.and I've mentioned Selvie before. He's on his 4th team. And great for him that the former 7th round draft pick of the Rams is starting for the Cowboys. Was he better leaving USF than when Sam entered the draft? Not even close, imho.

Difference is that no one said boo to him spending a few years finding his place in the league. Sam is drafted by a team that really only has room for a swing DE/DT and still almost makes it as a PRS on one of the best DLs on football. Then he goes to Dallas where (and here's where *I* could get in trouble) I don't think they wanted to be the team in the history books to have the first openly gay player on the field.

All I know is that I discovered Michael Sam while scouting Kony Ealy and agreeing with the take that Ealy was a poser. I saw the other guy with this GREAT motor and great shoulder dip making play after play. He had issues. His hips were so tight... Almost backbrace tight, but I saw a solid football player. This was MY eval BEFORE his announcement.

So, now that we're here, I just want him to get a football shot now that folks know that he's not "a distraction" and he's not an "issue" in the locker room. And if he succeeds or fails, let it be solely on the merits of his work and his results.

I agree with you on everything except your take on Ealy. Ealy was raw, but he was definitely the second-best defensive end in that class talent-wise (and the Panthers were lucky to get him where he was because I think he takes over Hardy's job and explodes onto the scene this year).

 

[thirteen28]

Just go to the CFL already and get some actual playing time. You may not be able to go directly to the NFL, but if you show something in the CFL, maybe somebody will give you a shot. You want to play football, don't you?

 

[Mackeyser]

And that may be what happens... I don't and won't judge him if the guy does DWTS. I mean, it's a TON of jack for dancing. And if he makes it through a few rounds, he'll have made enough in a few weeks to pay for at LEAST a year or two years of full time training without having to take a job.

That's huge.

Again, I realize for some, they don't get WHY this is as big a deal this is and that's fine. Plenty of dismissals to Canada or he's not good enoughs without any interest in examining Sam's situation.

Again, I get it.

But, for some of us, it is a big deal.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sports is the crucible in which we distill human virtue. The distillate remains are human vice. We get just as much as a society from watching our how white and black athletes comport themselves in play together as we do in seeing how our gay and straight athletes comport themselves in play together. The current issue is that while we KNOW that there are gay athletes currently playing (and have been gay players in the NFL for at least 50 years if not since its inception), they are not allowed to compete openly. Just look at what happened with Kerry Rhoades. He was basically outed and couldn't get any interest in the NFL even as a top 5 FS in the NFL. Supposedly, his former team extended a lowball contract to him, but from what I can gather, he decided to stay away instead of dignifying a system that would allow a top 5 player at a position to only earn journeyman wages solely because of his sexual orientation.

So you couple that with statements, some of which have gone public by some coaches (the most notable by the ST coach from Minny) that are pretty much the definition of hate speech and the NFL for gay players is very much like it was before integration except for one notable difference... gay players have ALREADY been in the league for so long that the only difference is getting those on board who have an issue with LGBT

 

[blue4]

I have a really, really hard time believing Dallas's gay bias was so large that they kept him off the squad in the middle of a SB run. That they knew he was the best player, didn't care if he might help win a SB. That an owner like JJ just cared more about keeping Sam on the bench than winning the SB. That my friends is what's hard to believe here.

Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. He's just not that good, yet.

 

[fearsomefour]

And that may be what happens... I don't and won't judge him if the guy does DWTS. I mean, it's a TON of jack for dancing. And if he makes it through a few rounds, he'll have made enough in a few weeks to pay for at LEAST a year or two years of full time training without having to take a job.

That's huge.

Again, I realize for some, they don't get WHY this is as big a deal this is and that's fine. Plenty of dismissals to Canada or he's not good enoughs without any interest in examining Sam's situation.

Again, I get it.

But, for some of us, it is a big deal.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sports is the crucible in which we distill human virtue. The distillate remains are human vice. We get just as much as a society from watching our how white and black athletes comport themselves in play together as we do in seeing how our gay and straight athletes comport themselves in play together. The current issue is that while we KNOW that there are gay athletes currently playing (and have been gay players in the NFL for at least 50 years if not since its inception), they are not allowed to compete openly. Just look at what happened with Kerry Rhoades. He was basically outed and couldn't get any interest in the NFL even as a top 5 FS in the NFL. Supposedly, his former team extended a lowball contract to him, but from what I can gather, he decided to stay away instead of dignifying a system that would allow a top 5 player at a position to only earn journeyman wages solely because of his sexual orientation.

So you couple that with statements, some of which have gone public by some coaches (the most notable by the ST coach from Minny) that are pretty much the definition of hate speech and the NFL for gay players is very much like it was before integration except for one notable difference... gay players have ALREADY been in the league for so long that the only difference is getting those on board who have an issue with LGBT

You bring up some interesting things in this post.
Again, I agree with much of what you are saying, the societal framing of it bothers me a bit, but, that is just a personal difference I suppose.
As a society do we view sports as a "crucible in which we distill human virtue"....maybe, not as much as we used to I hope. This is a problem with society, the simple mindedness of society if this is the case.
As far as "hate speech", this sort of thing bothers me a lot. There is speech, someone spewing their opinion for all to hear....whether that is at their home, in traffic, on a message board like this or at work. If what the guy said violates work rules then he should be disciplined. The obsessive effort to control speech/thought on this issue is counter productive. These sort of efforts have been at the forefront of this movement for some time, ultimately, it leads to effort to control or limit free speech....something that is bad for any society. If it is determined by the league/team that a bozo like the ST coach should be fired for what he said, so be it, that is paying the price for expressing ones opinions. However, the fear mongering and intimidation game that has been played by the PC crowd for some time is destructive and disingenuous at best.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Co-SEC Defensive POY, slotted to go 3-4 round... comes out...NOT BECAUSE he wanted the attention (that part really irritates me when folks say that. It's the only part of this that makes me viscerally upset), but because he was open at Missouri (as in not just openly stating it to his teammates, but going to gay bars and living openly in the community as gay) and he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control. He certainly didn't want to have to answer the same basic questions 1000 times over, so he held that press conference. Anyone who's had kids will understand "listen, I'm only going to say this once..." Well, the precedent was bad because no sooner than he came out than every eval that was written about him got backtracked and all of a sudden, he was a marginal player. A straight Michael Sam would have been drafted by the 4th round by someone and would have been on someone's 53 and no one would have thought twice about it. Sam's better than the tweener Seattle got in the 4th from UCLA, for example. No one said "boo" about that guy.

So tell me, other than the next Aaron Rodgers/Peyton Manning type who's all, but guaranteed to not only lead a franchise to multiple Super Bowls, but have a HoF career, what gay football player would be CRAZY enough to come out?

How come it makes you upset when people say he wanted the attention, but can go on and make claims about how he didn't want to be outed and then not have any control.

I don't get that. I mean that is upsetting if anything. How can you say that holding a press conference to announce your sexual orientation is not trying to get attention. For whatever reason it is still attention seeking. He could have just let whatever press or media outlet announce for him and there would have been a huge rallying cry over it, he could have maintained "control" by not giving it all up to the media. Keeping control would have been not saying anything. It would have been 100x more affective then being a single man without the ability to make a living outside of football (as you suggest) taking on the MEDIA.

By constantly claiming the MEDIA or any other person, place, or thing, is responsible for his actions then he is an irresponsible person. Which he clearly isn't. Those are all his choices. Of course they were all the wrong choices.

I'm not saying he was wrong to come out, but just arguing that it was a choice and it was IN FACT attention seeking. Whether he wanted to come our or not is beside the point - he was leading his life in college and was doing what he wanted. All he had to do was lay low and refuse to answer anything not football related. That would have put the onus on the media that you speak of, and put the spot light on them. Remember the chick who reported that he didn't shower with the team and how she got crucified for it. Well I'm suggesting that that result would have been a ubiquitous one had he just stuck to business.

I'm only saying this cause you state that he was openly going out to gay bars in college - well good. He should be able to do just what he pleases, but if it didn't affect him then, and he felt no need to come out in college, and everyone already kinda knew he was gay, then why seek the attention?

He clearly now has no control does he as you plainly suggest, aside from Dancing - so let me ask you how is Sam coming out to the media in an attempt get control working for him?

SO PLEASE
Stop blaming this "MEDIA" monster for everything that hasn't happened to Sam - it's f'ing ridiculous at this point. I mean how can you say the "media" is stopping him from playing in the NFL cause he was forced to come out cause of the "media" only for him to sign with Oprah, and entertain going on Dancing with the Network Stars.

The thing about Michael Sam is he's made all the wrong moves, on and off the field. Pure and simple.

 

[Zaphod]

I have a really, really hard time believing Dallas's gay bias was so large that they kept him off the squad in the middle of a SB run. That they knew he was the best player, didn't care if he might help win a SB. That an owner like JJ just cared more about keeping Sam on the bench than winning the SB. That my friends is what's hard to believe here.

Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one. He's just not that good, yet.

Agreed, he wouldn't have made their practice squad if they didn't have interest in him.