It's official

[PrivateTim]

The NFL has its first openly gay athlete.

 

Michael Sam, SEC Defensive Player of the Year to the St Louis Rams.

[Mark Arbour]

Go Rams!

[Graeme]

Excellent news! I checked yesterday but saw that he still hadn't been picked. Tim's saved me the trouble today -- Go Michael Sam and St Louis Rams!

[Daddydavek]

It is official.  

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/sports/football/michael-sam-picked-by-st-louis-rams-in-nfl-draft.html?ref=sports&_r=0

[GrimIsaac]

Cool

[Mann Ramblings]

Now we just need some naked selfies to hit the net

[TetRefine]

I find it really annoying how all they are focusing on is how ESPN caught him and his boyfriend kissing on camera when he found out he had been drafted. How about they concentrate on how he can contribute defensively to a bottom-rung team like they do with every other player.

I 

Or is the whole gay thing too much for the media circus to pass up? Yes I know, I already answered my own question.

 

SMH. 

Edited May 11, 2014 by TetRefine

[wildone]

So is it just me, or are others going Yay Michael Sams, boo NFL?

 

To be drafted at the bottom of the draft by a team that has nothing to lose, is more or less a vote of non confidence by all the teams of the league? To say that every defensive player of his division always got drafted in the first round and he is relegated to what was it, the 8th last player, sure doesn't show me much support from team owners and general managers/scouting staff. Doesn't matter how much you can claim the distraction as an excuse as numerous teams resign, sign players who life off the field is as big as what it is on the field.

 

I do have to give St.Louis a thumbs up. Although it would be easy to criticize them for not taking Sams earlier, they at least snubbed the rest of the league and took him before it was too late.

 

Mixed feelings on all of this

 

I guess overall the feeling I'm left with is this is a great first step and hoping that he gets to opportunity to get all those sacks he is hoping for

Edited May 11, 2014 by wildone

[Graeme]

So is it just me, or are others going Yay Michael Sams, boo NFL?

 

To be drafted at the bottom of the draft by a team that has nothing to lose, is more or less a vote of non confidence by all the teams of the league? To say that every defensive player of his division always got drafted in the first round and he is relegated to what was it, the 8th last player, sure doesn't show me much support from team owners and general managers/scouting staff. Doesn't matter how much you can claim the distraction as an excuse as numerous teams resign, sign players who life off the field is as big as what it is on the field.

 

I do have to give St.Louis a thumbs up. Although it would be easy to criticize them for not taking Sams earlier, they at least snubbed the rest of the league and took him before it was too late.

 

Mixed feelings on all of this

 

I guess overall the feeling I'm left with is this is a great first step and hoping that he gets to opportunity to get all those sacks he is hoping for

I understand what you're saying, but I think your last line expresses the best sentiment. It's a great first step, with the emphasis on first. The NFL clearly has a long way still to go, but if Michael Sam shows what he's capable of doing with the Rams, then that paves the way for others in the future and for Michael Sam to advance by possibly being traded to another higher-rated team.

 

People are generally scared of change. Few people like being the first with something, and that's reflected in what's happened here. The good...no, great...news is that the next time will no longer be the first. Each time, each step, makes it easier for the next time.

 

Good luck and best wishes for the Rams, and I hope the rest of the teams get to see what they missed because they were afraid....

[Bill W]

Congrats to Michael Sams AND the St. Louis Rams.  

[TetRefine]

For those of you not familiar with how the NFL works, players who get drafted that low rarely even make it out of training camp or just end up getting assigned to the practice squad. I highly doubt you will even see him rostered on St. Louis when September rolls around.

 

Sigh, the cynical part of me thinks in the back of my mind that the NFL orchestrated his draft just to avoid potential negative publicity. Especially after the whole Richie Incognito/Miami circus from last year. 

Edited May 11, 2014 by TetRefine

[Daddydavek]

It does give him a chance to show his stuff at the mini-camp and that is what will determine if he makes it further with the team.  All he is asking for is a chance and at least he has gotten that much.  St. Louis did not need a player at the positions he can play and was not expected to draft him.  That they felt he was a quality player that they could not ignore does say something for their organization.  It also says the rest of the NFL in fact did shy away in part because of the gay issue which was no surprise.

[Former Member]

There is nothing to describe the surreal scene of Michael Sam receiving the news of being drafted. That image is so distant from anything the NFL and its fans ever see. Conjoining a gay couple's intimacy with the NFL draft boggles a few minds. I felt his emotion, as a gay person, but not as an athlete who has put so much work into his career (obviously). I also felt, for a second, it was too raw to be shared with the world-- where is the privacy that he deserved? Is privacy another old-fashioned and sentimental concept we'd best do without? Whether he makes the team or not, there are millions of Americans who have a more diverse picture of their world than existed before Michael came along. And that's something.

[TetRefine]

There is nothing to describe the surreal scene of Michael Sam receiving the news of being drafted. That image is so distant from anything the NFL and its fans ever see. Conjoining a gay couple's intimacy with the NFL draft boggles a few minds. I felt his emotion, as a gay person, but not as an athlete who has put so much work into his career (obviously). I also felt, for a second, it was too raw to be shared with the world-- where is the privacy that he deserved? Is privacy another old-fashioned and sentimental concept we'd best do without? Whether he makes the team or not, there are millions of Americans who have a more diverse picture of their world than existed before Michael came along. And that's something.

 

He allowed ESPN to put the camera in the room where he was watching the draft, so he essentially gave up his right to privacy. 

[Irritable1]

I dont watch ESPN. Is it usual to film reactions from the people being drafted? I've heard of post-draft interviews.

[TetRefine]

I dont watch ESPN. Is it usual to film reactions from the people being drafted? I've heard of post-draft interviews.

 

Sometimes yes, but mostly no and certainly not for a guy picked close to dead last. ESPN just did it because he was gay and they figured it would make good TV, which it did. They got their gay kiss, and everyone either went "awww", "ewwww" or "oh my god" when they saw it. It was good for ratings. 

Edited May 12, 2014 by TetRefine

[W_L]

For those of you not familiar with how the NFL works, players who get drafted that low rarely even make it out of training camp or just end up getting assigned to the practice squad. I highly doubt you will even see him rostered on St. Louis when September rolls around.

 

Sigh, the cynical part of me thinks in the back of my mind that the NFL orchestrated his draft just to avoid potential negative publicity. Especially after the whole Richie Incognito/Miami circus from last year. 

 

We're New Englanders, we're always a little more suspicious and cynical than the average man

 

I know it's a rating ploy and I can hear some off-color jokes abouting the Rams coming out of the woodwork, but in the end, it is historic. Still, kudos to him and his 6 figure annual salary.

 

Many are hoping he can be the gay "Jackie Robinson" of Football, but let's be honest, we'll need a completely out gay QB for that to happen.

[methodwriter85]

I hate to say this, but I have to agree with you. We need someone like Aaron Rodgers to come out.

[TetRefine]

Let's face it. The movement wants a clean cut, well-spoken, good looking, A-level white guy to use as their poster child for gay football players. Michael Sams fits the clean cut and well-spoken part, but he isn't white so he's not quite the "picture-perfect" spokesman many people wanted. It's kinda disgraceful because he had huge balls to do what he did before he was even established. I respect him to no end. But I am very cynical about the way the media and NFL is handling this.

 

On a side note, his boyfriend (a former swimmer) is hot.

[Daddydavek]

I agree and they certainly made a hot couple.  Any young gay guy who saw the video of their reactions and the kisses had to be impressed.

 

 As an old, old, old guy, I thought it was a bit over the top, but hey, who am  I to criticize?

[Irritable1]

I could understand the emotion. Days of anticipation and building tension, his prospects looking less and less promising...   Poor kids.

[W_L]

Let's face it. The movement wants a clean cut, well-spoken, good looking, A-level white guy to use as their poster child for gay football players. Michael Sams fits the clean cut and well-spoken part, but he isn't white so he's not quite the "picture-perfect" spokesman many people wanted. It's kinda disgraceful because he had huge balls to do what he did before he was even established. I respect him to no end. But I am very cynical about the way the media and NFL is handling this.

 

On a side note, his boyfriend (a former swimmer) is hot.

 

Well, it is progress; 50 years ago, if people saw an interracial couple, they'd be oo'ing and ewwing.

 

Now, it takes an interracial gay couple to get that kind of reaction....hmm, maybe that's really not progress after all

 

Racism is not dead in America, but in reality, gay Americans need to take some of the blame. We perpetuate the gay stereotype of the "hot white twenty-something male".

[GrimIsaac]

some, but not all