Quote:If his teammates knew already, isn't that all that really mattered? The guy came out on national TV. That wasn't an attempt to lift the burden. That was an attempt to get the spotlight.
In the end, his strategy didn't help his draft stock much. But not for a lack of trying. I think his coming out was a very calculated move that just didn't pan out as he'd hoped it would.
Someone had to take the "calculated move" or it never would have happened. What would you be saying if an active NFL backup or special teams guy had come out between the end of the season and the start of free agency? Would you accuse him of doing it solely to "get the spotlight"? What if it had been a star player? Where does the line between being a pioneer and hogging the spotlight exist for you? A guy on the level of Peyton Manning, Richard Sherman or Adrian Peterson (just throwing names, not suggesting anything) wasn't going to be the first, nor would a guy projected into rounds one or two. The bridge had to be crossed, and Sam, as a fringe prospect, was the perfect guy to do it.
Quote:The problem that I have is that right now we have a seventh round compensatory selection being pushed down our throats as someone to be idolized.
Fast forward to this morning. you have people on national television admimatly and with raised voices telling me and my family that we need to see this guy kissing his boyfriend we need to see it, we need to like it and if we have a problem with it then we're someone inhuman insensitive or being accused of being some closet case. The blatant hypocrisy on this issue is just plain sickening.
And last but not least, and this may suprise you. I'm really legitimately praying for this kid. Because i know, that everyone singing his praises right now doesn't really give a hoot about him. They just care about the soundbyte.
I apologize for reducing a very well-articulated and well thought-out post to these few little lines, but I felt the need to respond to these few points in general.
First off, regarding a seventh-round compensatory guy being shoved down our throats, I don't think that there are too many people on this board who realize what a hero Michael Sam is to a fairly large (approximately 9-10%) subset of the American population. He's not just a late-round pick; he's a trailblazer for future NFL players. It'll take time, and it'll take higher profile players coming out, but eventually we'll be to a point where it's not wall-to-wall coverage on ESPN as they desperately hunt for a story on the final day of the draft. It'll just be a one-line blurb in the sports page roundup, and that's how it should be. Thing is, there had to be a Michael Sam, and there had to be a Jason Collins, and there have to be many others before we get to that point.
And to your final point about the soundbyte, I question the comment and disagree. I genuinely want Sam to succeed and have a long, great career, but I'm also a realist. He's a 6'2" 255-lb. pass rusher who runs a 4.9. College production is what it is, but the measurables aren't there for him to be remembered as anything more than a journeyman special teamer. Others have overcome iffy triangle numbers (H-W-40) before, but the odds are certainly stacked against him. Even if he does wash out, he's opened the door for others. If he goes to Canton as an individual player based upon his coming out alone, I'll be disappointed, but I don't think that'll happen. If he goes as part of a larger exhibit on homosexuality in the NFL, not for his individual recognition, I'm good with that.
Quote:Why was that Dolphins player fined for saying he didn't like seeing Sam and his BF kissing. I'm not going to lie, I was like yuck.
As much of a supporter as I am of Michael Sam, I really believe that the networks overdid it. An athlete kissing his significant other upon being drafted? Not even worth a second thought, regardless of sexual orientation. The cake thing, though the content didn't bother me, just felt like ESPN was shoving down our throats (literally), and I don't recall ever seeing anything like that from a heterosexual player. I believe that in that one case, and only that one case, coverage overstepped its bounds. As far as spending the final day of the draft focusing on one player, that's nothing new. Anyone remember Marcus Vick? Caleb Campbell? Danny Woodhead? ESPN and NFLN go story-hunting to make the selection of career backups and one-and-done special teamers feel like it's worth watching, and Michael Sam is the best final-day story to come along in a long time.
Quote:Because George Orwell's 1984....read it.
Again with the poo. I have read 1984, a dozen or so times, in fact. It's my favorite book, and arguably one of the finest ever written. I actually wrote and defended a college thesis on the application of 1984's content to patterns and habits in current society. That paper was written back in 2002; I only wish I were able to write it again today, because we're about a dozen steps closer to that fictional society than we were then. I still live with the dream of someday moving to a Scandinavian country, where surveillance of citizens by public and private entities isn't just frowned upon; it's legislated out of existence. But that's beside the point.
I do disagree with the decision to suspend and fine Don Jones, because I believe that a player should be able to speak his mind, no matter how controversial that speech is. If a team doesn't like it, they're free to cut him. Jones could have been quietly waived following the post-draft minicamps in favor of a tryout player, and no one would have said a thing beyond, "He's the guy who criticized Michael Sam on Twitter." Instead, by suspending and fining a player for speaking his mind, the Dolphins--and the NFLPA, by way of not fighting it--have introduced a confusing and, frankly, concerning precedent allowing teams to act against players who publicly express an opinion that can not in any way translate to criticism or defamation of his own team. It's a complicated question and one that the NFL and NFLPA need to address quickly.
At the same time, let's also remember that we're dealing with the Dolphins, a team gutted by a bullying scandal in which suggestions of homosexuality were at the center of everything. Forgive them for being a bit oversensitive about the issue and acting accordingly. The last thing that team wants is a new round of public and private scrutiny.
That said, equating that decision to 1984 is ridiculous. In the 1984 world, Jones would have been quietly abducted, taken to a reform center, made to believe the party line, then summarily killed. Please don't make yourself look ridiculous by suggesting that the Dolphins fining and suspending a player is even close to a 1984-esque societal action.