ESPN reports the first openly gay player will come to the NFL

dallen

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I applaud him. He knew it was coming out and he got out in front of it.
That's pretty much it. There is an article at outsports.com about how the story came out. It was pretty much an open secret in Columbia that he was gay so his agents knew it would come out under the scrutiny of the draft. Their plan was to do it between the combine and the UofM Pro Day but some other national media started to piece thing together so they had to push up the story before he got outed.

http://www.outsports.com/2014/2/9/5396036/michael-sam-gay-football-player-missouri-nfl-draft
 

dallen

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I disagree...he has much more to lose. Endorsements in particular...regardless of what we think those would dry up.
Maybe some would. But I think he would get a lot more endorsements than he lost. He would go from being widely known by sports fans to being a cultural icon
 

boozeman

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Two CFL players fined for social media comments about Michael Sam

Posted by Josh Alper on February 11, 2014, 4:36 PM EST


There’s been a non-stop stream of reactions to Michael Sam’s public revelation that he’s gay over the last three days and two CFL players have been reprimanded by the league for their responses on social media.

Montreal slotback Arland Bruce III suggested Sam “get on your knees and submit to God fully” among less printable suggestions in a diatribe that also featured a misspelling of the word “gay.” Winnipeg defensive tackle Bryant Turner tweeted and deleted that Sam’s locker room “would come with complimentary robes,” which is far less profane but deemed worthy of a fine all the same.

The comments made by these players are extremely disappointing and do not represent the CFL’s views or the views of the vast majority of our players,” CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon said. “The CFL is supportive of openly gay athletes in professional sports and we commend the courage shown by Michael Sam. During the off-season, we have been working with an organization that specializes in this subject and look forward to announcing a formal partnership with them in the near future.”

The amount of the fines were not announced.
 

boozeman

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Michael Irvin: NFL players should be mature enough to accept Michael Sam as a teammate




By Jon Machota
jmachota@dallasnews.com
11:09 am on February 12, 2014 |

In July 2011, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin was pictured on the cover of Out, a magazine focused on gay fashion and lifestyle.

In that edition, the Pro Football Hall of Famer said he would support a gay player.

In a recent interview on The Arsenio Hall Show, Irvin remained true to his word, supporting Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, who announced Sunday that he is gay. Sam is projected to be drafted by an NFL team in May.

While many wonder how this announcement will affect Sam’s draft stock, Irvin, an analyst for NFL Network, called it a “beautiful plan” because he says the league doesn’t want to see Sam go undrafted.

“There is no way on God’s green earth that the NFL wants him sitting there tick, tock, tick, tock, and not get drafted,” Irvin said. “They don’t want that. They do not want that. So trust me, I believe this may help him way more than hurt him.”



Irvin, who had a gay brother, called Sam a good player and added that if he can rush the quarterback in the NFL, his sexual orientation won’t matter.

In regards to how he will be accepted in an NFL locker room, Irvin pointed to how well the Missouri football team dealt with Sam announcing to them that he was gay before the 2013 season.

“The college athletes at Mizzou, they handled it perfectly. He told them before the season. In the SEC, you never heard about this. The very definition of a locker room is saying, ‘Hey man, I got your back. You can count on me. I give you my word.’ And that’s exactly what those guys did. They had his back, they counted on him. I think that’s what gave him the strength to come forward.

“Now, I would hate to think grown men in an NFL locker room are going to be less mature than those kids in college.”
 

dallen

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Playmaker? More like Gaymaker! Amirightyouguys?
 

1bigfan13

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His dad was not real supportive.
Apparently Sam's no longer allowed to drink out of glasses at his dad's house. He has to bring his own or use one glass and mark it.
 

Cotton

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Apparently Sam's no longer allowed to drink out of glasses at his dad's house. He has to bring his own or use one glass and mark it.
WTF? Do they think they will catch the gay?

:lol
 

Cotton

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~flips table and walks out~
 

1bigfan13

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It's from a bit Kevin Hart did during one of his stand ups. He was talknig about how his dad was addicted to crack and slobbed nobs for drug money.

Hart said after he found out he told his dad that he's not allowed to drink out of anymore cups in the house.
 

boozeman

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Hansen Unplugged: Celebrating our differences

by DALE HANSEN


WFAA


Posted on February 10, 2014 at 10:48 PM

Updated yesterday at 1:27 AM


It was quite a weekend.

That little dust-up in Lubbock Saturday night, and then on Sunday, Missouri's All-American defensive end Michael Sam — the SEC's defensive player of the year and expected to be a third to fifth-round pick in the NFL draft — tells the world he's gay.

The best defensive player in college football's best conference only a third to fifth round NFL pick? Really? That is shocking, and I guess that other thing is, too.

Michael Sam would be the first openly gay player in the NFL; says he knows there will be problems... and they've already started.

Several NFL officials are telling Sports Illustrated it will hurt him on draft day because a gay player wouldn't be welcome in an NFL locker room. It would be uncomfortable, because that's a man's world.

You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You're the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft.

You kill people while driving drunk? That guy's welcome.

Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they're welcome.

Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away?

You lie to police trying to cover up a murder?

We're comfortable with that.

You love another man? Well, now you've gone too far!

It wasn't that long ago when we were being told that black players couldn't play in "our" games because it would be "uncomfortable." And even when they finally could, it took several more years before a black man played quarterback.

Because we weren't "comfortable" with that, either.

So many of the same people who used to make that argument (and the many who still do) are the same people who say government should stay out of our lives.

But then want government in our bedrooms.

I've never understood how they feel "comfortable" laying claim to both sides of that argument.

I'm not always comfortable when a man tells me he's gay; I don't understand his world.

But I do understand that he's part of mine.

Civil rights activist Audre Lord said: "It is not our differences that divide us. It's our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."

We've always been able to recognize 'em. Some of us accept 'em.

And I want to believe that there will be a day when we do celebrate 'em.

I don't know if that day's here yet. I guess we're about to find out.

But when I listen to Michael Sam, I do think it's time to celebrate him now.
 

Cotton

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For those that don't like to read:

 

boozeman

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Outsports writer hopes Michael Sam doesn't land with Cowboys, Jets, Redskins


By Will Brinson | NFL Writer

February 18, 2014 2:37 pm ET

Former Missouri defensive end and SEC Defensive Player of the Year Michael Sam recently announced publicly that he is gay. Following that announcement, there was a revealing piece on Outsports.com from Cyd Zeigler about the behind-the-scenes work to get Sam's news out there.

So Zeigler, naturally, got asked to do some radio. And while he was on with EOF amigos Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhler on 106.7 the Fan in D.C., Zeigler was asked what teams might work -- and what teams might not work -- for Sam. He named names.

“He can work on any team with decent leadership," Zeigler said. "I pray to God he doesn't end up on the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Jets or the Washington Redskins. I think those three teams – they have poor leadership, but most of the other teams in the NFL have guys -- the coaching staff, the front office and locker room -- who are equipped to deal with this."

Without hijacking Zeigler's train of thought here, but with an assist from his Twitter page, I don't think he's saying the Redskins, Cowboys and Jets front offices won't be accepting of a gay player. I think -- and I stress think -- that Zeigler's saying he's just concerned about the front offices of those teams in general when it comes to football-related matters (or in the case of the Jets, that they are oftentimes a gigantic circus).





The reality is wherever Sam lands it's going to be a pretty big circus for several weeks at minimum. Him coming out in advance of the NFL Combine and the 2014 NFL Draft is a massive, massive deal.

Whoever lands him ideally has the best possible infrastructure in place to deal with the influx of publicity coming that team's way.
 

boozeman

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Former Cowboys DE Greg Ellis on Michael Sam: 'If he pats somebody on the butt, how is that to be received?'


SPORTSDAYDFW.COM

Published: 19 February 2014 09:47 PM

Updated: 19 February 2014 11:33 PM






Former Cowboys defensive end Greg Ellis joined KESN-FM on Tuesday. Here are some highlights from the interview.

On what his team’s reaction would be to Michael Sam when he was playing:

“I think it would be totally different than what it is right now. I think those years made a lot of difference in the current day NFL. But still, a universal rule in my opinion is that it’s going to affect the football team. I don’t care how we look at this, it’s going to affect the football team. And one of the biggest reasons why it’s going to affect the football team, he’s not a proven player. Teams and guys have a lot of tendency to accept a lot of things if they feel like, ‘Nobody done like him, but nobody can do what he can do.’ If it’s your quarterback and he’s playing like Peyton Manning you’re going to have find a way to say, ‘We’re going to overlook that because we’re trying to win football games.’ But when you’re coming in as an unproven rookie, you won’t have that card to pull because you’re unproven. He has to be careful. He has to come in, close his mouth. It should’ve never came out. I know half the people will say, ‘Why not?’ Because it hurts his opportunity to be welcome into a football club.”



On what Sam first needs to do when he goes to a team:

“If he can make it through that first initial wave. If he can get out there — he doesn’t need to say anything. He needs go in there, close his mouth and play football to let the guys know that, ‘Hey if you guys give me a chance to welcome me into this fraternity of this football team, I can contribute and help us win football games.’ That’s going to be his best approach in my opinion. Because the little things you have to look at. If he pats somebody on the butt — I hope ESPN don’t get mad and never have me back — but if he pats somebody on the butt, how is that to be received? If he does that how is that to be received? If he said, ‘Come on baby’? I called guys baby all the time on the football field, but when you have taken a stand and went and go public and say that, ‘I am gay,’ how is that going to be received? I’ve seen guys, I had guys on the Dallas Cowboys football team — I won’t mention names — who did not want you to pat them on their butt. So God forbid if you pat one of those guys on the butt it’s going to be a major problem.”



On if he would’ve been uncomfortable with playing with a gay player:

“I would. I would. People who’ve never been in an NFL shower room, not just locker room, it’s a open room. We don’t have private curtains. It’s just an open-form shower, so everybody sees each in the nude. Well if you’re looking at men as if you’re looking at women or vice versa, how are those guys to receive that? I don’t know. I don’t know how they will receive that. But I do know it would be a situation where I would go to the coach and try to work something out to say, ‘Obviously this is going to be a problem. What can we do? The kid can help us play, can help us win football games. We need him on the team. But this situation right here, we need to do something.’ ”
 
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