Michael Sam Discussion
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RamBill
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Nick Wagoner @nwagoner
Will have column in a bit but Rams didn't know of docu-series when drafting Sam.Was told that access will be extremely limited at Rams Park.
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
The Rams didn't know about the Sam reality show when he was drafted, but are working through the logistics with the OWN people.
My own feeling on this is that if Sam wanted to have things be all about football from here on out, cutting that deal wasn't the way to go.
Will have column in a bit but Rams didn't know of docu-series when drafting Sam.Was told that access will be extremely limited at Rams Park.
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
The Rams didn't know about the Sam reality show when he was drafted, but are working through the logistics with the OWN people.
My own feeling on this is that if Sam wanted to have things be all about football from here on out, cutting that deal wasn't the way to go.
RamBill
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Wade Davis addresses Rams on Sam
Updated: May 14, 2014, 9:09 PM ET
By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...ddress-team-michael-sam?ex_cid=espnapi_public
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Soon after making the decision to make Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher placed a phone call to an old friend.
On the other end of the line was Wade Davis, a former Titans cornerback who came out in 2012 and is now the executive director of the You Can Play project, which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes regardless of sexual orientation.
Fisher asked Davis to hop on a plane to St. Louis and deliver that message to his team, his coaching staff and the Rams' front-office staff.
“
We have a good relationship. After they drafted Sam, (Jeff Fisher) reached out and was like 'Hey, I would like you to deliver a very similar message that you gave at the owners meetings here.' He really thinks it will help his guys understand what it's like to be in the NFL and be gay.
” -- You Can Play executive Wade Davis
Davis obliged and spent all day Monday talking to the various branches of the Rams organization and back in New York by Tuesday.
"We have a good relationship," Davis said. "After they drafted Sam, he reached out and was like 'Hey, I would like you to deliver a very similar message that you gave at the owners meetings here.' He really thinks it will help his guys understand what it's like to be in the NFL and be gay."
Davis spent the 2000 and 20002 training camps with Fisher's Tennessee Titans before being released before the regular season. But Davis and Fisher maintained a good relationship, one that was buoyed further by a presentation Davis made at the owners meetings in March.
There, Davis led a workshop for all of the coaches in attendance and drew rave reviews for the discussion. Fisher was one of the first coaches to approach Davis and commend him on the presentation.
Upon arrival in St. Louis, Davis spent about 30 minutes speaking to the players and participating in a question and answer session. With the players, Davis made it a point to stress that Sam shouldn't be treated any different than any other player in the locker room setting.
"It's kind of like the same old rules that I can mess with my brother but no one else can," Davis said. "Once you put on the NFL jersey, you become a part of the brotherhood as a family. Just like you protect yourself from the media and fans, you have to do the same thing for Michael.
"So we talked about the fact that he's a seventh-round draft pick but he's going to be treated like a first-round pick so how do they help him to stay focused on football and not let any of the outside distractions kind of prevent that."
Davis was impressed when the first question from a player was 'How do we support Michael?' and emphasized that the usual locker room jokes that players already share shouldn't be deemed off-limits.
"If you are walking on eggshells around him thinking you can't say certain things to him then he knows he is being treated differently," Davis said. "I made fun of a lot of guys there from the team just to show 'Hey, gay guys have a sense of humor.' We can take a joke too. That's one of the things I've learned from working with a lot of athletes in college is that their straight teammates want to support them but they don't know how."
Davis also wanted the players to know that Sam isn't going to be a tattletale if someone steps out of bounds while the players get to know one another.
"He knows that players aren't going to be perfect so I wanted to reassure them that Michael is not looking to run to the principal's office to say 'Hey, I heard a guy say this or say that,'" Davis said. "He gets it that the guys aren't going to be perfect."
Davis also spent some time with Sam, whom he met shortly before Sam's coming out announcement on ESPN in February. In the time between Sam's announcement and the draft, the two remained in contact with Davis providing some humor and football-specific advice for Sam.
After the discussion with the team, Davis and Sam spent some time with Rams Director of Player Programs La'Roi Glover and discussed how to handle potential distractions.
Davis also offered Sam some advice specific to the Rams because of his long-running ties to Fisher, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, defensive backs coach Chuck Cecil and special teams coach John Fassel, who was a college teammate of Davis.
As a former undrafted free agent, Davis also had some words for Sam about keeping perspective on his place in the locker room.
"He's still a seventh-round draft pick so he's got to keep that in mind and to make sure he doesn't get caught up in thinking he's someone who he's not," Davis said. "There is a pecking order and you have to fall in line to that pecking order."
Davis' stop in St. Louis probably won't be the last such trip he makes to an NFL team facility in the near future. He said he hopes to visit with five to seven more teams and continue to grow the reach of the You Can Play project in conjunction with the NFL.
In the meantime, Davis believes Sam won't have much time to truly grasp the depth of his place in history but that day will come.
"I don't think he's had time to think about it and also because he's in it right now," Davis said. "It probably won't hit him for four or five years. Once he's settled in the league, he's able to step back and kind of that hoopla around him has died down some."
Updated: May 14, 2014, 9:09 PM ET
By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...ddress-team-michael-sam?ex_cid=espnapi_public
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Soon after making the decision to make Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher placed a phone call to an old friend.
On the other end of the line was Wade Davis, a former Titans cornerback who came out in 2012 and is now the executive director of the You Can Play project, which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes regardless of sexual orientation.
Fisher asked Davis to hop on a plane to St. Louis and deliver that message to his team, his coaching staff and the Rams' front-office staff.
“
We have a good relationship. After they drafted Sam, (Jeff Fisher) reached out and was like 'Hey, I would like you to deliver a very similar message that you gave at the owners meetings here.' He really thinks it will help his guys understand what it's like to be in the NFL and be gay.
” -- You Can Play executive Wade Davis
Davis obliged and spent all day Monday talking to the various branches of the Rams organization and back in New York by Tuesday.
"We have a good relationship," Davis said. "After they drafted Sam, he reached out and was like 'Hey, I would like you to deliver a very similar message that you gave at the owners meetings here.' He really thinks it will help his guys understand what it's like to be in the NFL and be gay."
Davis spent the 2000 and 20002 training camps with Fisher's Tennessee Titans before being released before the regular season. But Davis and Fisher maintained a good relationship, one that was buoyed further by a presentation Davis made at the owners meetings in March.
There, Davis led a workshop for all of the coaches in attendance and drew rave reviews for the discussion. Fisher was one of the first coaches to approach Davis and commend him on the presentation.
Upon arrival in St. Louis, Davis spent about 30 minutes speaking to the players and participating in a question and answer session. With the players, Davis made it a point to stress that Sam shouldn't be treated any different than any other player in the locker room setting.
"It's kind of like the same old rules that I can mess with my brother but no one else can," Davis said. "Once you put on the NFL jersey, you become a part of the brotherhood as a family. Just like you protect yourself from the media and fans, you have to do the same thing for Michael.
"So we talked about the fact that he's a seventh-round draft pick but he's going to be treated like a first-round pick so how do they help him to stay focused on football and not let any of the outside distractions kind of prevent that."
Davis was impressed when the first question from a player was 'How do we support Michael?' and emphasized that the usual locker room jokes that players already share shouldn't be deemed off-limits.
"If you are walking on eggshells around him thinking you can't say certain things to him then he knows he is being treated differently," Davis said. "I made fun of a lot of guys there from the team just to show 'Hey, gay guys have a sense of humor.' We can take a joke too. That's one of the things I've learned from working with a lot of athletes in college is that their straight teammates want to support them but they don't know how."
Davis also wanted the players to know that Sam isn't going to be a tattletale if someone steps out of bounds while the players get to know one another.
"He knows that players aren't going to be perfect so I wanted to reassure them that Michael is not looking to run to the principal's office to say 'Hey, I heard a guy say this or say that,'" Davis said. "He gets it that the guys aren't going to be perfect."
Davis also spent some time with Sam, whom he met shortly before Sam's coming out announcement on ESPN in February. In the time between Sam's announcement and the draft, the two remained in contact with Davis providing some humor and football-specific advice for Sam.
After the discussion with the team, Davis and Sam spent some time with Rams Director of Player Programs La'Roi Glover and discussed how to handle potential distractions.
Davis also offered Sam some advice specific to the Rams because of his long-running ties to Fisher, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, defensive backs coach Chuck Cecil and special teams coach John Fassel, who was a college teammate of Davis.
As a former undrafted free agent, Davis also had some words for Sam about keeping perspective on his place in the locker room.
"He's still a seventh-round draft pick so he's got to keep that in mind and to make sure he doesn't get caught up in thinking he's someone who he's not," Davis said. "There is a pecking order and you have to fall in line to that pecking order."
Davis' stop in St. Louis probably won't be the last such trip he makes to an NFL team facility in the near future. He said he hopes to visit with five to seven more teams and continue to grow the reach of the You Can Play project in conjunction with the NFL.
In the meantime, Davis believes Sam won't have much time to truly grasp the depth of his place in history but that day will come.
"I don't think he's had time to think about it and also because he's in it right now," Davis said. "It probably won't hit him for four or five years. Once he's settled in the league, he's able to step back and kind of that hoopla around him has died down some."
Speeps
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I agree that this story should be told. I don't like the fact that the Rams weren't aware of this, and the fact that he claims to want to focus on football, yet is making this about his journey to making the team. To me, this is the wrong way to be doing this. This is not what he should be doing. It sends mixed signals, and now I'm questioning his motives.
tonyl711
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if Sam is smart he will not do anything else to draw attention to himself as anything but a football player, his focus should be on nothing but football right now, just like any other rookie. the media distractions could slow his learning curve, I just hope he keeps his mind on football instead of Oprah and her peers.
Speeps
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This. If his true intentions were just to make the team, he shouldn't even be thinking about this. I'm just disappointed. After all that talk about just football, and now this.
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I'm sorry but he wouldn't make the first cut if this bullshit starts causing a problem. I sure hope this kid doesn't think he can waltz in with an Oprah entourage and try and make this the Michael Sam Story. It want have a storybook ending. Matter of fact, I'd be scolding his ass right now and closing all team activities to the public until further notice.
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You can tell he's tired of it too from his interview yesterday. I would imagine this is more of the people representing him then actually him. He also might've agreed to it on a whim without fully thinking about what he's getting himself into. He needs better representation imo . Bring on all this shit AFTER he's made the team. I agree though he definitely doesn't need anymore distractions or pressure right now in his life.
Regardless, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I'm sure the Rams will take care of it. This FO can pretty much handle anything.
Stranger
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Wait, MS cut this deal before the draft? MS just knew that the OWN people wanted to do a documentary on him, or was he an active participant in some sort of media deal where he gets paid? Do we know?
RamBill
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Will documentary distract Sam from goal?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...-sam-all-about-football-has-to-be-team-effort
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- It should come as no surprise that St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher contacted former player Wade Davis to speak to his team about how to embrace and accept Michael Sam, the league’s first openly gay player.
Fisher has a long history of finding ways to build the right chemistry on his teams. He’s also been doing it long enough to construct an equally impressive Rolodex that he can call upon when needed.
Having Davis, who played for Fisher in the early 2000s but didn’t come out as gay until 2012, speak to the team on Monday at Rams Park was a smart move.
It also wasn’t the only Sam-related news to come out Wednesday evening. The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) announced it had purchased the rights to a documentary series following Sam’s life.
The release from the network included the following from Sam in a statement.
"If seeing my story helps somebody else accept who they are and to go for their dreams too, that's great," Sam said. "I am thankful to Oprah for her support and excited to work together."
For as wise as it was for Fisher to bring Davis in to help his team and staff better understand what it is to have a gay teammate, it’s fair to wonder if the documentary series is equally unwise.
After speaking with Davis, it’s easy to understand why Fisher chose him to make the presentation. Davis speaks eloquently on inclusion and equality but also has a football background, which allows him to connect with current players.
In recounting his visit with the team, Davis said he spent time with Sam and Rams director of player programs La’Roi Glover. The discussion was focused on how to make Sam’s life as football-centric as possible.
“He’s got to bear down and say football is the No. 1 thing in my life right now and nothing else is going to interfere with that,” Davis said. “The great thing I love is that Michael’s first question to La’Roi Glover was 'How do we remove all distractions?'”
Well, one way to limit distractions would be to eschew media requests that go above and beyond the normal media duties of an NFL player.
While it’s certainly understandable to want to document a groundbreaking, historic story, it also doesn’t seem conducive to making it all about football, which was the message Sam delivered repeatedly throughout his introductory news conference Tuesday.
For their part, the Rams did not know about the Sam documentary before drafting him but were informed soon after the choice was made.
According to a report from ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell, Sam’s representatives had been negotiating the deal for the past two months. But just because the deal was made and the series was in the works before the Rams drafted him doesn’t mean they will be allowing any special access.
In fact, the Rams don’t plan to allow any special coverage of Sam, including to those filming the documentary. In other words, the film crew will have the same media access as everyone else for anything taking place at Rams Park or any other team events.
Those restrictions should limit any undue distractions for the team, but can the same be said for Sam as he pursues a roster spot?
The transition to the NFL is a difficult one for any rookie and the amount of attention Sam has already drawn will likely continue even if it tapers off some in the next few weeks.
Sure, Sam will spend most of his days at Rams Park unencumbered with the rest of his teammates, but the cameras will be waiting for him when he leaves.
Based on Fisher’s efforts to bring Davis to town to speak to his team and the other measures being put in place by the Rams organization, they’re doing all they can to ensure Sam’s surroundings are as comfortable as possible.
Whether Sam is doing the same for himself away from Rams Park remains to be seen.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...-sam-all-about-football-has-to-be-team-effort
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- It should come as no surprise that St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher contacted former player Wade Davis to speak to his team about how to embrace and accept Michael Sam, the league’s first openly gay player.
Fisher has a long history of finding ways to build the right chemistry on his teams. He’s also been doing it long enough to construct an equally impressive Rolodex that he can call upon when needed.
Having Davis, who played for Fisher in the early 2000s but didn’t come out as gay until 2012, speak to the team on Monday at Rams Park was a smart move.
It also wasn’t the only Sam-related news to come out Wednesday evening. The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) announced it had purchased the rights to a documentary series following Sam’s life.
The release from the network included the following from Sam in a statement.
"If seeing my story helps somebody else accept who they are and to go for their dreams too, that's great," Sam said. "I am thankful to Oprah for her support and excited to work together."
For as wise as it was for Fisher to bring Davis in to help his team and staff better understand what it is to have a gay teammate, it’s fair to wonder if the documentary series is equally unwise.
After speaking with Davis, it’s easy to understand why Fisher chose him to make the presentation. Davis speaks eloquently on inclusion and equality but also has a football background, which allows him to connect with current players.
In recounting his visit with the team, Davis said he spent time with Sam and Rams director of player programs La’Roi Glover. The discussion was focused on how to make Sam’s life as football-centric as possible.
“He’s got to bear down and say football is the No. 1 thing in my life right now and nothing else is going to interfere with that,” Davis said. “The great thing I love is that Michael’s first question to La’Roi Glover was 'How do we remove all distractions?'”
Well, one way to limit distractions would be to eschew media requests that go above and beyond the normal media duties of an NFL player.
While it’s certainly understandable to want to document a groundbreaking, historic story, it also doesn’t seem conducive to making it all about football, which was the message Sam delivered repeatedly throughout his introductory news conference Tuesday.
For their part, the Rams did not know about the Sam documentary before drafting him but were informed soon after the choice was made.
According to a report from ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell, Sam’s representatives had been negotiating the deal for the past two months. But just because the deal was made and the series was in the works before the Rams drafted him doesn’t mean they will be allowing any special access.
In fact, the Rams don’t plan to allow any special coverage of Sam, including to those filming the documentary. In other words, the film crew will have the same media access as everyone else for anything taking place at Rams Park or any other team events.
Those restrictions should limit any undue distractions for the team, but can the same be said for Sam as he pursues a roster spot?
The transition to the NFL is a difficult one for any rookie and the amount of attention Sam has already drawn will likely continue even if it tapers off some in the next few weeks.
Sure, Sam will spend most of his days at Rams Park unencumbered with the rest of his teammates, but the cameras will be waiting for him when he leaves.
Based on Fisher’s efforts to bring Davis to town to speak to his team and the other measures being put in place by the Rams organization, they’re doing all they can to ensure Sam’s surroundings are as comfortable as possible.
Whether Sam is doing the same for himself away from Rams Park remains to be seen.
-X-
Medium-sized Lebowski
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Yep. This was a mistake. He could have easily told OWN that he'd prefer they cover him after the season is over, and after he makes whichever team drafts him. That would very clearly demonstrate that he has no other goals right now. This is a little disappointing.Nick Wagoner said:
Thordaddy
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I have gone from loving this pick to hating it in two pages of this thread.
Sam snookered the Rams ,or they snookered themselves ,and FWIW he needs to get his head out of his ass cuz he's hurting the chances of other "openly gay" players, with this .
no good deed goes unpunnished
Sam snookered the Rams ,or they snookered themselves ,and FWIW he needs to get his head out of his ass cuz he's hurting the chances of other "openly gay" players, with this .
no good deed goes unpunnished
Last edited:
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I hope the kid got taken advantage of and didn't know what he was getting into because if not, he becomes a punk to me and I will be looking forward to the day he is cut. Let's hope this is all just a misunderstanding.
HE WITH HORNS
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This guy is starting to sound like an attention whore. I'd say cut him as soon as possible.
SaneRamsFan
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I believe this is what's known as making a come line bet.
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Oprah - STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM OUR RAMS! This is the audience we want getting involved? I'm sure they're all avid football fans and are interested in making sure the Rams come out with a fair shake if heaven forbid, he doesn't make the team. Suppose she'll give everyone in her audience free season tickets to the Rams games to go with their free Michael Sam jersey? 