Quote:To say that Jason Collins is irrelevant in discussing Michael Sam is as ridiculous a comment I have ever read in this boards.

 

There is no other comparison that you can make in Sam's case BUT Collins.

 

You're also contradicting yourself. You claim that Sam was only drafted because he came out, then also state that the Rams see some of the things attached to him as distractions (as Dungy referred to them). If that's the case, then isn't it more likely that coming out ACTUALLY hurt Sam's stock? If him coming out was going to be viewed by teams as a distraction, then isn't it more reason for an athlete NOT to come out?

 

And that's where this comes back to....that's why no prominent athlete has ever come out of the closet...until now.

 

For whatever reason, there's this connotation in doing so. I mean, seriously, pray tell....

 

Why do you automatically assume a negative agenda to Sam coming out? Why can't it be that he just wanted to come out? To tell his story? To inspire kids and teens that it's OK to be open about how you really are?

 

Why does it have to be that "oh he came out. He must be trying to get some special benefit from it"?

I'm not contradicting myself at all.  I'm simply stating an opinion about what I think HIS strategy was for coming out in the way that he did despite the fact that in reality, his preference was already pretty well known.  You disagree with my premise that his intention was to increase his profile, and hopefully in turn, improve his draft stock.  I think that's one of the main reasons he did what he did.  It got him a ton of media attention coming into the draft, and it absolutely was the reason why Oprah decided to cover his every move in a reality show. 

 

The Rams shut down his reality show once he was drafted.  They didn't want Oprah's camera crews creating an even bigger circus around a 7th round pick than they already had.  The revelation that there was a reality show didn't come out until AFTER the draft, so the Rams wouldn't have had a clue before selecting him.  They basically gave up a meaningless draft pick to select a guy who might make their roster as a special teamer.  If he gets cut, just wait to see how the same activists who have used him as their champion turn on the Rams and blame his sexual preference for his release.  You can't deny that there WILL be groups that use that tact. 

 

If you watched the media coverage on the day he was selected, both ESPN and NFLN were running packages talking about what a hero Sam was.  A guy that some of the same talking heads had predicted wouldn't be drafted leading up to that day were suddenly touting him as a must have guy on the final day of the draft.  They were talking about him the entire day until he was finally selected by St. Louis, almost shaming teams for not selecting him. 

 

The media created a circus around Sam being drafted, then lived off that attention for a couple of weeks afterward because of the whole kiss video and photos.  They jammed it down the throats of everyone in America, and if anyone expressed an opinion that it might be considered inappropriate to do so, those people where blasted. 

 

This whole Dungy situation is just the tip of the iceberg here.  He's being hammered in the media for being honest about his opinion, and sticking to his convictions.  Whether you agree with him or not, he does not deserve the heated rhetoric that has been thrown his way by such luminaries as Wilbon and others on sports talk.  Bill Maher referred to a gay mafia that exists, and he was absolutely 100% correct.  They pounce on anyone who they perceive to be homophobic, even if that's not the case at all.  They've started coming after Dungy over his comments which had little to do with Sam's preferences, and everything to do with the distraction caused by the media hype surrounding it.  What he said wasn't homophobic at all, but that didn't stop them from tossing that out there.  Basically, their reaction to his comments is making his point. 

 

Why do I think there was another agenda involved in him coming out?  Maybe that wasn't the intention initially, but someone in his circle probably felt it was an opportunity to capitalize.  Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen a high profile interview on ESPN announcing it, and he wouldn't have had the Oprah planning to do a reality show dedicated to him.  If you don't think there was more at play here than being an inspiration, you're not paying attention to everything that transpired around that declaration. 

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