(USA Today Sports)
The news about Missouri All-America defensive end Michael Sam coming out as maybe the first NFL gay athlete ever did not get a reaction from the fans. For the media and football players, it was another story.
The media galvanized it because Sam could be a trailblazer for gays if a NFL team drafts him. This is the first time ever a gay athlete played in one of the four biggest professional leagues, and it could pave the way for many gay athletes to play in mainstream sports.
For football players, they are going to enter into a new territory. That means there won’t be anymore trash talk or demeaning of gays. That means no more gay slurs that football players like to spew out. That means they have to accept gay athletes as one of their own.
The fans don’t care about whether Sam is gay or not. It’s about production such as getting as many as sacks as possible. It’s a good bet football executives and football players feel the same way, too.
The last thing the NFL needs to be known as a discrimination league for football players, so executives won’t have a problem with drafting gay athletes. With fans pressuring teams to win every year now, football executives will not be wasting time thinking about an athlete’s sexual orientation. They will draft Sam based on his ability to get to the quarterback.
If executives can bring in thieves, rapists, wife beaters and drunk drivers, they can bring in gays. They look the other way as long as the players win games. It shouldn’t be any different for Sam if he is gay.
Granted, Sam will have to play for an organization that has a strong football culture. He needs to play for a winning team with a strong leadership. Teams like the Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Patriots and Seahawks are fine fit for Sam to fit in.
Putting Sam with a team that has a rookie coach would not make sense. Considering he is going to have to learn a lot in his new job, the last thing he needs is dealing with the media distractions that is going to follow Sam around.
Putting Sam with the Jets would be a horrible fit considering Rex Ryan runs a loose locker room that promotes players to act like Neanderthals. Plus, the Jets coach does not want to deal with a media distraction that could cause problems in the locker room. It wouldn’t be a good fit for Sam for an organization that is not a stranger to controversy.
Here’s hoping the Broncos draft Sam in one of their draft picks. They could use an outside linebacker that can complement Wesley Woodyard. They need their defense to get meaner and stronger. They need to get a defense that can provide a mean streak.
Elway talked about wanting a guy who will be physical in last week’s postmortem presser. This is his opportunity to back up his words by drafting Sam.
The players won’t have a problem with Sam as long as he does not become a gay activist during service time or if he is around them. They want him to do his work and conduct himself properly. They want him to respect the game.
The players are much more evolved than we give credit for. This isn’t 1960 anymore where gays would not be accepted.
Now, there are some players who are going to object to Sam’s sexual orientation. There are many bigots, and there are many religious players that will disagree with Sam’s lifestyle. They feel gay players don’t have the makeup to be good football players. Understand those guys are the minority. The league is full of young players that have accepted gays in society.
The players are more worried about winning games. That’s it.
The media is making something bigger than it is, but that’s what they do. Newspapers need to sell papers, Internet sites need hits and sports radio needs ratings. Sam is their talking point for better or for worse. It’s not right.
The media can make things easy for Sam by not chronicling his actions or moves. They should treat him like any other football player. This is the same people that basically played a role in getting Tim Tebow out of football by chronicling every move of his that drove the Broncos and Jets crazy in the end. Football coaches are secretive in nature, and the last thing they want is loads of cameras following them and their players around.
For all the good things the media do, they can do bad things here by making something out of nothing. This is the case with Sam.
There shouldn’t be an issue with Sam fitting in, and there shouldn’t be concerns whether teams will take him.
Executives and players are going to be more concerned about Sam being reliable on gamedays.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
