Moronic digression?  It's an honest question.

 

Michael Sam made a spectacle of himself.  He made it a story by going to ESPN and coming out on a national platform.  At that point, he became an advocate, and I'm pretty certain based on what has happened since that this was his intention.  It has gotten him exposure that he never would have gotten otherwise.  How many other 7th round picks had cameras set up in their living room to stage a celebration when they were drafted? 

 

The fact that he and his agent inked a deal to do a reality show with the Oprah contradicts what he was saying all along that this is just about football. 

 

To me this entire thing has felt contrived from the start.  Based on the article I linked above, I'm not alone in that feeling.  In the thread that was eventually locked down, I made the point that if you looked at scouting reports, most pretty much indicated he'd go undrafted.  Coming out on ESPN and declaring he was gay put a spotlight on him that arguably wound up guilting the SEC into naming him the defensive player of the year.  It also could have been used to leverage his sexual preference to guilt a team into drafting him. 

 

If you watched the draft day coverage on day 3, it was mostly about Michael Sam.  ESPN and the NFL Network both did these fluff reports on Michael Sam, and it seemed like every 15 minutes they were flipping to his staged living room camera to make sure teams knew he was still waiting for a call. 

 

The worst part is the circus has just begun.  Jeff Fisher says he won't hesitate to cut him if he doesn't fit what they're doing.  We'll see.  If he does, I'll give it 30 minutes before some advocacy group comes out declaring him a homophobe.  They'll pressure the NFL, always the politically correct bunch they are, and threaten to boycott the league.  Would it shock anyone if the league comes back and reprimands Fisher and the Rams if they cut him?  We've already seen players fined and put into "rehab" for having an opinion about having to see two dudes lick cake off each other's face on Twitter, or a video run repeatedly on ESPN of a kiss.

 

In the end, none of this is about football as Sam claimed it was. 

 

It was a pointless question.

 

It was essentially, "This thing I don't like said its being something I don't like isn't all about getting coverage, therefore this thing that I don't like is a hypocrite for getting coverage."

 

I didn't ask about him getting coverage, I asked how he'd feel about the coverage if it were something he were more sympathetic to.

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I think he came out after already being named SEC DPOY.

Much before. Before the season.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
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Much before. Before the season.

 

Well he came out to his team before the season. He didn't do it in front of cameras until he was already named DPOY.

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I think he came out after already being named SEC DPOY.

 

You are correct.  We've been talking about this for so long that things start running together.

 

For the record, he was the co-defensive player of the year. 

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

He has stated numerous times, maybe hundreds that he wants this to be all about football, strictly football. The Oprah deal alone, among other things contradicts that. How is that not clear ?

 

It's also not a documentary. It's a reality show.

 

Wants WHAT to be about football?

 

I understand the point you are trying to make, but the two things are completely unrelated.  

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Well he came out to his team before the season. He didn't do it in front of cameras until he was already named DPOY.

 

He came out around the same time that it was becoming clear his draft stock wasn't exploding as a result of a decent year.  Scouts still had a ton of questions about how good he could be at the next level.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Set himself for life?  How much do you think he will get from this show?

 

 

He'll get enough to have a head start in life if he doesn't make it as a pro-football player.  Do you really think other 7th rounders wouldn't do this given the opportunity?

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

It was a pointless question.

 

It was essentially, "This thing I don't like said its being something I don't like isn't all about getting coverage, therefore this thing that I don't like is a hypocrite for getting coverage."

 

I didn't ask about him getting coverage, I asked how he'd feel about the coverage if it were something he were more sympathetic to.

 

You got all that from my question?  Wow. 

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

He'll get enough to have a head start in life if he doesn't make it as a pro-football player.  Do you really think other 7th rounders wouldn't do this given the opportunity?

 

Are you asking if other 7th rounders would come out as gay?  Because without that announcement, I'm fairly certain nobody would care who Michael Sam was when he was inking his undrafted free agent deal with some team.

 

I don't see any straight 7th rounders with a reality show courtesy of the Oprah.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

There's no reason why Sam can't make it all about football while still doing a reality show. In fact, the more success he has on the field, the more interest there will be in the show. He's not stupid.

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

There's no reason why Sam can't make it all about football while still doing a reality show. In fact, the more success he has on the field, the more interest there will be in the show. He's not stupid.

 

But the very premise of the show has nothing at all to do with football beyond the fact that the main subject is a football player.  This is the Oprah we're talking about.  Not the NFL Network.  Success or failure on the field is irrelevant as far as this show is concerned.  That's not why this show exists.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Are you asking if other 7th rounders would come out as gay?  Because without that announcement, I'm fairly certain nobody would care who Michael Sam was when he was inking his undrafted free agent deal with some team.

They probably wouldn't.  But again -- if they were given that opportunity, do you really think they'd turn it down?  

 

I wonder if it would bother people if another 7th round rookie decided to do a reality show/documentary because he was the first blind NFL player.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

You got all that from my question?  Wow. 

 

It's not surprising that you'd think everything is about you, but I was referring to my original question to someone else, which you decided to chime in on.

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They probably wouldn't.  But again -- if they were given that opportunity, do you really think they'd turn it down?  

 

I wonder if it would bother people if another 7th round rookie decided to do a reality show/documentary because he was the first blind NFL player.

 

There's no way to sensationalize that for the Oprah.

 

Part of this whole issue is that saying "what if it was a blind guy, or a homeless guy, or someone else with a compelling story?" is irrelevant. This is the queen of political correctness pouncing on a story that is a hot button issue in society today and taking advantage of that to profit.  She's the Oprah.  It's what she does.  Blind, one legged, or homeless aren't sexy enough for ratings.  Gay is. 

 

Maybe Sam is being used?  That's something I referenced in the other thread.  If that's the case, once the novelty wears off, watch how quickly the cause celeb gets tossed on the trash heap.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

It's not surprising that you'd think everything is about you, but I was referring to my original question to someone else, which you decided to chime in on.

 

While quoting my question.  Yeah, how dare me thinking you were responding to me.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

While quoting my question.  Yeah, how dare me thinking you were responding to me.

 

It's not my fault you're so wrapped up in yourself that you can't even recall what the thread of our exchange is about.

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There's no way to sensationalize that for the Oprah.

 

Part of this whole issue is that saying "what if it was a blind guy, or a homeless guy, or someone else with a compelling story?" is irrelevant. This is the queen of political correctness pouncing on a story that is a hot button issue in society today and taking advantage of that to profit.  She's the Oprah.  It's what she does.  Blind, one legged, or homeless aren't sexy enough for ratings.  Gay is. 

 

Maybe Sam is being used?  That's something I referenced in the other thread.  If that's the case, once the novelty wears off, watch how quickly the cause celeb gets tossed on the trash heap.

 

It's a hot button issue, but the first blind player in the NFL would be a story that's easy to sell.  It'd be inspirational, which is exactly what Oprah is going for with the Michael Sam story.  

 

I just don't see why anybody that's not a Ram's fan cares.  It doesn't really affect any of us.  If it affects the Rams, then yay for that, because the Mullet is their head coach.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

It's a hot button issue, but the first blind player in the NFL would be a story that's easy to sell.  It'd be inspirational, which is exactly what Oprah is going for with the Michael Sam story.  

 

I just don't see why anybody that's not a Ram's fan cares.  It doesn't really affect any of us.  If it affects the Rams, then yay for that, because the Mullet is their head coach.

 

There was a deaf player who helped his team win a super bowl trophy recently.. I smell a sitcom.. 

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But the very premise of the show has nothing at all to do with football beyond the fact that the main subject is a football player.  This is the Oprah we're talking about.  Not the NFL Network.  Success or failure on the field is irrelevant as far as this show is concerned.  That's not why this show exists.

 

Perhaps, but a show about the first openly gay player to make an opening day roster has much more staying power than a show about the first openly gay player to be drafted and cut. The longer he stays in the league, the longer the show stays on the air.

 

And if he has an agenda, so what? If he doesn't make the grade, he gets cut. I'm not buying into the theory that Fisher will keep him on the roster due to pressure from the league office. If Sam gets cut and fines result, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong.

 

Those of us who are not gay have no idea what his life has been like. For all we know, he may be entirely justified in putting his lifestyle on public display just to show anyone who ridiculed or doubted him how wrong they were.

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

It's a hot button issue, but the first blind player in the NFL would be a story that's easy to sell.  It'd be inspirational, which is exactly what Oprah is going for with the Michael Sam story.  

 

I just don't see why anybody that's not a Ram's fan cares.  It doesn't really affect any of us.  If it affects the Rams, then yay for that, because the Mullet is their head coach.

 

It wouldn't appeal to the Oprah.  Gay?  That appeals to the Oprah because she knows who butters her bread. 

 

The Oprah isn't doing a reality show about Sam because it's inspirational.  She's doing it because she's got a network that's got struggling ratings, and she needs some sensationalized topic to draw ratings.  Homosexuality is a hot button issue in the country right now, and she's just riding the trend.  It's got nothing to do with inspiration, and everything to do with the almighty dollar. 

 

A blind player in the NFL would get a nice 8 minute video package on ESPN or the NFL Network.  It might even make the network news.  It wouldn't get a reality show.

 

It became a story bigger than Rams fans when ESPN and the NFL Network repeatedly ran the video. 

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.