First Openly Gay NFL player comes out

[CTPride]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...es-interview-york-times-014316680--ncaaf.html

Missouri DE Michael Sam, a 2013 All-American, revealed he was gay Sunday.

 

[ZooCougar]

He's not technically NFL yet.

 

[kibblesnbits]

What impressed me is that he told his teammates back in August and they kept it in the family for so long.

 

[sportsart]

Brave young man. Hope it becomes a non issue quickly, but I doubt it. After you read/hear about his life and family growing up, like he said, this is nothing.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Very cool. It will be interesting to see how this impacts where he is drafted.

A lot of credit to the HC. He kept the team focused on what was important.

Good luck to Sam. He is very brave.

 

[DDaileyuconn]

Can't wait until the nfl draft in April, kid was projected a hi draft pick

 

[huskysupporter]

Can't wait until the nfl draft in April, kid was projected a hi draft pick

No he wasn't. Have seen on a few sites he was projected to go from the 4th to 7th round.

Courageous guy. I have a ton of respect for him and hope he does well.

 

[Fishy]

No he wasn't. Have seen on a few sites he was projected to go from the 4th to 7th round.

Courageous guy. I have a ton of respect for him and hope he does well.

I've seen as high as third round.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I've seen as high as third round.

That seems like the high end from everything I've seen. He's a bit of a tweener unfortunately. Not really big enough to be a DE and doesn't seem to have enough speed to be a top prospect as a rush LB. He is definitely still a legitimate NFL prospect, but I think realistically he was going to be in that mid-to-late round range.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

It's amazing that the defensive player of the year in the best conference is considered a 5th or 6th round pick according to Feldman's sources. Nothing to do with his being gay, because that was forecasted before he came out...just amazing that he was that successful in the SEC yet he is only considered a top 200 talent. I would guess Smallwood will be drafter earlier.

Who would have thought that Smallwood would have been drafted before the top defensive player in the SEC?

Anyway....good luck to Sam...I am sure someone with his determination will do well in the NFL.

 

[cryjeremiah]

About time.

 

[upstater]

That seems like the high end from everything I've seen. He's a bit of a tweener unfortunately. Not really big enough to be a DE and doesn't seem to have enough speed to be a top prospect as a rush LB. He is definitely still a legitimate NFL prospect, but I think realistically he was going to be in that mid-to-late round range.

4.7 for a 260 pound guy really is top NFL speed, especially if he plays faster. He's bigger than Dumervil. He projects as a Mark Anderson type speed rusher. Though he's short for the position (6'2") he has very long arms.

 

[SubbaBub]

Be curious to see if/when any gay players currently in the NFL will come out to support him.

My guess is as soon as it becomes clear he'd make an NFL team.

 

[huskyrob1]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...es-interview-york-times-014316680--ncaaf.html

Missouri DE Michael Sam, a 2013 All-American, revealed he was gay Sunday.

They'll probably change him to a tight end.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

They'll probably change him to a tight end.

I hope that's not a bad (and terribly unfunny) attempt at humor.

 

[noeynox]

Peter Kings mmqb, is an interesting read on the topic. One GM, is saying he is not a very good player and doubts he gets drafted. If he doesnt get drafted will people say it was because he was gay?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

From what I have seen of Sam, he’s a high energy, ball hawk with decent, if not prototypical NFL size (Russell Wilson anyone?). well spoken, too. If he drops to the 4/5 round as indicated here, he would be a great fit with the Niners where he could develop behind some of the league’s best linebackers in a city where he would be embraced.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20140209/michael-sam-draft-stock/?eref=sihp

 

[Husky25]

The quicker it becomes a non-issue, the better it will be. Unfortunately, it will never be a non-issue, whether the media keeps it alive (i.e. When he's drafted - which stock just took a tumble - he will be the gay DE from Missouri). or fans on their respective message board (e.g. Chistian Ponder just got sack by the gay guy).

Like it or not, politics exist in the draft room as well as the locker room and this creates a needless distraction. Unless Sims is a consensus top 5 pick (which he is not), baggage is a tiebreaker when choosing to draft a guy or pick up a free agent.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

4.7 for a 260 pound guy really is top NFL speed, especially if he plays faster. He's bigger than Dumervil. He projects as a Mark Anderson type speed rusher. Though he's short for the position (6'2") he has very long arms.

Where are you seeing that number? Everything I've read about him is not great speed, lack of pass rush moves, too small to be a DE. I guess we'll see at the combine though, because all these reported 40-times are notoriously overstated.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Peter Kings mmqb, is an interesting read on the topic. One GM, is saying he is not a very good player and doubts he gets drafted. If he doesnt get drafted will people say it was because he was gay?

If he doesn't get drafted it probably will be. He may not be a great prospect, but he is a legitimate NFL prospect from everything I've read.

 

[upstater]

Where are you seeing that number? Everything I've read about him is not great speed, lack of pass rush moves, too small to be a DE. I guess we'll see at the combine though, because all these reported 40-times are notoriously overstated.

I read that as his 40. It was actually reported as 4.72

 

[huskyrob1]

If he doesn't get drafted it probably will be. He may not be a great prospect, but he is a legitimate NFL prospect from everything I've read.

He should have waited to announce this till after he was drafted.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ns-of-draft-day-drop-for-michael-sam/related/

"Because Sam had come out to his teammates already, one person Thamel and Evans spoke to said that 90 percent of teams already knew and had dropped Sam on their draft boards as a result. Others said that the NFL would be ready for an openly gay player “in the coming decade or two” and that being openly gay would “break a tie” with another player going before Sam. An NFL assistant said Sam’s move was not a smart one."

 

[upstater]

He should have waited to announce this till after he was drafted.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ns-of-draft-day-drop-for-michael-sam/related/

"Because Sam had come out to his teammates already, one person Thamel and Evans spoke to said that 90 percent of teams already knew and had dropped Sam on their draft boards as a result. Others said that the NFL would be ready for an openly gay player “in the coming decade or two” and that being openly gay would “break a tie” with another player going before Sam. An NFL assistant said Sam’s move was not a smart one."

Given the rumors, he was forced into it.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

ESPN will not let this fade for months.

He has the dreaded "tweener" tag, but damn the measurables. Kid was co-defensive player of the year in the SEC as a DE. I hope the Raiders grab him mid draft. 5th round would be great.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I read that as his 40. It was actually reported as 4.72

If he runs that well and doesn't get drafted, the calls will absolutely legitimate. We'll see though.

 

[ZooCougar]

Bruce Feldman just called him a tweener on Feinstein. Too slow to be a LB, too small to be a DL. He said this could affect him because he may not be worth the extra baggage. It's all valid.

This kid is unlucky because he is the "first". He may benefit from some other guys coming out.

It's too bad because most younger 25 and under people don't really see this as a big deal. But the Feinsteins of the world, even though they are generally bleeding heart liberals won't let it go, because this is a big deal to the middle aged Springsteen listening segment of the world who don't even realize that it's commonplace to see openly gay kids in High School nowadays.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Bruce Feldman just called him a tweener on Feinstein. Too slow to be a LB, too small to be a DL. He said this could affect him because he may not be worth the extra baggage. It's all valid.

This kid is unlucky because he is the "first". He may benefit from some other guys coming out.

It's too bad because most younger 25 and under people don't really see this as a big deal. But the Feinsteins of the world, even though they are generally bleeding heart liberals won't let it go, because this is a big deal to the middle aged Springsteen listening segment of the world who don't even realize that it's commonplace to see openly gay kids in High School nowadays.

I don't agree....if it wasn't a big deal he wouldn't be the first. Because kids in high school are more accustomed to going to school with openly gay students, doesn't mean that the first openly gay player in the NFL isn't a big deal. The NFL isn't high school.

But...this shouldn't be a shocking development either. It was inevitable. I hope that his transition to the NFL is as easy as his transition to his senior year at Missouri after he came out to his teammates. Then it won't be a big deal.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don't agree....if it wasn't a big deal he wouldn't be the first. Because kids in high school are more accustomed to going to school with openly gay students, doesn't mean that the first openly gay player in the NFL isn't a big deal. The NFL isn't high school.

But...this shouldn't be a shocking development either. It was inevitable. I hope that his transition to the NFL is as easy as his transition to his senior year at Missouri after he came out to his teammates. Then it won't be a big deal.

It wasn't a distraction to the Missouri football team. They did a good job of handling it and they had a pretty good season. This will be more of media generated issue, and there may be a few homophobic NFL players but other than that this could fizzle as quickly as you can say Manti Teo's fake girlfriend.. But it won't.

 

[noeynox]

I could see issues in the locker room. If we learned anything from Incognito/Martin is that the level of ball busting that goes on in NFL locker rooms is over the top. Almost to a man the dolphin players came to the defense of incognito. What if players start circulating pictures of a shemale saying it was Sam's HS prom date? Todays society would find that grossly offensive but nfl locker rooms are said to be 50 years behind in terms of tolerance and what is acceptible or not. People crucified Tim Hardaway for his comments on John Ameachi, which werent all that offensive, yet he was probably saying what most players thought privately but were not dumb enough to say publicly. It shouldnt be a big deal, but i doubt it is ho hum. Could you imagine what opposing players would say on the field if they thought there would be no backlash?? They routinely talk about each others moms and gfs tryingvto get in each others heads.

 

[Husky25]

It wasn't a distraction to the Missouri football team. They did a good job of handling it and they had a pretty good season. This will be more of media generated issue, and there may be a few homophobic NFL players but other than that this could fizzle as quickly as you can say Manti Teo's fake girlfriend.. But it won't.

Doubtful it fizzles like Teo's girlfriend. She didn't exist. This is a player characteristic that will never go away.

Remember, the NFL is the league where Doug Williams was famously asked how long he has been a black quarterback before Super Bowl XXII. The NFL needed a rule to ensure minority coaches get an opportunity to be interviewed for head coaching openings. The NFL may make the most of their marketing opportunities and be the best of the league to quell controversy (or sweep it under the rug), but it is still a Good Ol' Boys network and at the end of the day, the last thing a coach or GM wants in the locker room is a distraction. The degree to which this issue goes away is dependent directly on how good Sam performs.