NFL Draft prospect Michael Sam comes out as gay.

I hope he does well and stays healthy, the big dopey beauty. I watched that video and cried with him, the giant baby that he is, because the regular dream of a football player to make into the NFL came true, but you could see that he knew it was more than that. I loved it. Very moving.

It's a big deal and a lot of pressure. Mostly I wish him health, superhuman healing, and focus.

Do it, Michael Sam. Best to you.

ULTRAGOTHA said:

That's not what Chris Kluwe thinks.

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He's been beating that drum since he was cut. His outspoken personality was well known for quite a while. If it was about his position, he wouldn't have lasted as long as he did.
The NFL is wins and losses. Period.
http://thebiglead.com/2013/05/06/chris-kluwe-was-released-because-of-punting-not-because-of-preaching/

Kluwe ranked 17th in terms of overall standings in 2012, but he also ranked 31st, next to last, in terms of punts inside the 20. That is a crucial statistic.
His salary was 1.45 million. Locke, his replacement, cost 405k. That's a significant savings.
Locke had 23 punts inside the 20.
But the final nail in the 'cut for my opinion' coffin? There are two. One, the Vikings gave him permission to make his political opinion known, just under the guidelines that he not state he was speaking for the Vikings organization, since they didn't take a side.
Secondly, he attempted to get the job with the Raiders, and was beat out in training camp.
The Raiders aren't exactly brimming with talent. Yet...he couldn't even beat their punter out.

A few interesting numbers -

.2% of high school football players make it into the NFL. Of 9,000 college players, only 310 are invited to the combine.

Of those who get drafted? Less than half last three years.

That suggests a draft pick is not a resource to waste on PR. It also puts whatever comes next for Sams into a more realistic perspective.

Oh, and Sams isn't "Mr. Irrelevant" - The last (256th) person drafted this year was a Lonnie Ballentine. He gets some fun prizes.

Williebee said:

A few interesting numbers -

.2% of high school football players make it into the NFL. Of 9,000 college players, only 310 are invited to the combine.

Of those who get drafted? Less than half last three years.

That suggests a draft pick is not a resource to waste on PR. It also puts whatever comes next for Sams into a more realistic perspective.

Oh, and Sams isn't "Mr. Irrelevant" - The last (256th) person drafted this year was a Lonnie Ballentine. He gets some fun prizes.

Click to expand...

He's going to be in a tough spot in the NFL and I think that's why he was drafted so low.

He may be fast for a college lineman, but he'll be undersized in the NFL.

The Rams could switch him to linebacker, but will he be fast enough to do both run defence and pass defence?

And, sure, he got the SEC defensive player of the year award, but his statistics were skewed. I think about half of his sacks for 2013 (or maybe a third?) came in two games against very soft opponents.

I wish him the very best because somebody had to break this barrier in the NFL, and I'll be cheering for him, but I'm not sure he's going to be in the league very long.

New day. Same old stuff.

Michael Sam gets the news he's been drafted.




Homophobic America responds.

I just read a CNN article about the response to "the kiss" and the ensuing firestorm. I watched the NFL network during the draft and saw the tape. (Personally I love watching the young men's reactions to "the phone call.") When they kissed, I blinked. I'd never considered he'd have a boyfriend, didn't even think about it. But then, why not?

In reading the article about some of the outrage I thought that the kisses were just pecks on the mouth. What's the big deal? It wasn't like they started making out right then.

Actually, I've watched that video several times as I thought it was just a beautiful moment.

The outrage over Sam's kiss is completely out of line, and 100% exactly what I would have expected.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Just based on reactions around me, the only firestorm in progress is among bigots, and among the advocates responding.

Just about everyone in my workplace couldn't care less about Sam's sexual orientation.

Kissing is gross.