Interesting, AA DE Sam from Missouri, comes out.

[NLeininger]

Brave to do it before the NFL draft.

 

[Hooked_up]

Well he said he was gay...brave? I don't think so really. If you are comfortable with who you are it's just being "you". Gay really should not be an issue on a football field. How is it relevant to performance? He will be an employee for someone and they will not lose fans over it. Might even gain some. I don't really buy into being brave.

 

[Texasfight10]

Well he said he was gay...brave? I don't think so really. If you are comfortable with who you are it's just being "you". Gay really should not be an issue on a football field. How is it relevant to performance? He will be an employee for someone and they will not lose fans over it. Might even gain some. I don't really buy into being brave.

Its brave because it will probably affect his draft stock

 

[Hooked_up]

That is HIGHLY questionable. A team could take him for that fact alone for PR

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I feel like we should all have our own press conference to discuss our own sexual preferences and what we're into. Every time someone does it, people toss roses.

Personally, I'm a washing machine guy. You simply cannot beat the spin cycle. Did I just say that? OMG, I've come out!!!!!

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

I honestly don't know if Sam's "coming out" helps or hurts his draft stock.

The cynic in me says that his agent probably encouraged him to do it. Maybe a PR-savvy team drafts him earlier than they otherwise would have? Does a NFL team even want this type of free publicity?

 

[BigPhil76]

It is a look at me .. move at best.. when his draft stock plummets he can become a victim. I can see those headlines coming out now.. Mainstream America would not have cared had this not been made a big deal of. Now we have to suffer through being called bigots because he got drafted 4th round instead of 2nd. It is just another symptom of what is wrong with this country.

 

[Hiphopopotamos]

Its pretty clear that a great many in this thread have no understanding of just how momentous a moment this is for the lives of young gay athletes and sports fans. Imagine living your whole life and never once seeing someone else like you acknowledged in football or basketball or baseball or hockey. This is tremendous - and he should be celebrated.

It is a look at me .. move at best.. when his draft stock plummets he can become a victim. I can see those headlines coming out now.. Mainstream America would not have cared had this not been made a big deal of. Now we have to suffer through being called bigots because he got drafted 4th round instead of 2nd. It is just another symptom of what is wrong with this country.

I don't even know how to respond to this. He made it known because he is a young intelligent man who is comfortable with who he is and confident enough in himself to believe he should control his own story. His teammates in college already knew. NFL scouts and administrators already knew. It shouldn't matter to anyone else - but thats beyond naive. Pretty soon the scumbags who work for TMZ (and watch and pay for that material) were going to out him to the public whether he wanted them to or not.

Yes, he's suddenly the center of attention - but the immense societal good it does far outweighs whatever 'selfish' motive you might believe he had.

 

[Anubis]

It is incredibly brave. It will no doubt affect his draft, may very well shorten his career, and will subject him to a lot of abuse both on and off the field. It's a badass move, and he's the first football player in history with the guts to do it. So yeah, it's brave.

 

[bbdude]

Sam reportedly told his teammates in August of last year. Hats off to Gary Pinkel and Mizzou for handling it appropriately. Virtually received no publicity back then and the team was obviously focused on football going 12-2 overall.

The timing of his announcement is curious....

 

[Chapalahorn]

I'm just glad they're in the SEC now. This could've given The Big 12 an entirely different meaning.

 

[The Tres Leches]

Sam said that it was apparently known to all the scouts at the Senior Bowl and his agent had received word that he was going to be outed.

Makes sense that he would want to control his own message on this issue.

 

[streettopeschel]

it's noteworthy since he's the first to do it but i suspect the noteworthiness passes pretty quick. if it wasn't a big deal to his college teammates it shouldn't be a big deal to NFL teammates.

As to whether it has any bearing on his draft stock, i doubt it. the NFL is mercenary. all that matters is 'can you play'. I've always thought if charlie manson had a nice touch on the deep ball and could throw a 20-yard out pattern, they'd have a pro day at San Quentin. Either nfl teams think he can play or he can't. sexual orientation will be a footnote.

 

[Darrell McPhaul]

Sam said that it was apparently known to all the scouts at the Senior Bowl and his agent had received word that he was going to be outed.
Makes sense that he would want to control his own message on this issue.

This^^^^.

Sams stated he really had no choice but, to announce it himself if he wanted to control his own message.

As we all know, if the media is the first to report it, you can't control it.

 

[BevoBlake]

And let's be honest, the media would have destroyed this kid if they would have gotten hold of it before he announced it. I'm not sure which is sadder. That something like this needs to be announced. Or that the media is more or less forcing people into revealing details of their private life.

 

[Anubis]

A lot of character flaws are tolerated in the NFL, but it's still fundamentally a mater of market. The folks buying tickets and merchandise are plenty forgiving about murder, not clear how they feel about homosexuality. I'm sure there are NFL owners who are confident in their market and are happy to add Sam. But I'd bet there are also NFL owners that don't want that possible disruption or attention. That reduced competition for Sam potentially drops his draft stock and translates into lower earning.

We will see. The national culture is changing rapidly, but the football audience isn't necessarily on the front line of that effort.

 

[aowells]

Sam said that it was apparently known to all the scouts at the Senior Bowl and his agent had received word that he was going to be outed.
Makes sense that he would want to control his own message on this issue.

Because the scouts already knew, it can now only help his draft stock.

As it's now public knowledge that he's gay, any teams that would have passed on him (because he's gay), know people will be scrutinizing their decision and might not be so quick to pass.

And hopefully it helps him end up at a team and city where it'll be less of an issue. There are no end of lists for gay-friendly cities, gay-friendly vacation destinations etc. I want to see the list of gay-friendly NFL teams! Any team that wants to stake their claim on the #1 spot can do so by drafting Michael Sam.

 

[Topstarr]

my goodness.........

 

[texasdalton]

I think this will help his Draft stock only because a franchise doesnt want to be viewed as anti anything. Only problem is that even tho he has a early pre combine grade of 3-4 round he is still an undersized de and not quite built like a nfl lb. Another thing ppl forget about his stats are that he recorded 3/4th of his sacks against weak teams this year. Definitely draftable but I wouldnt want my team drafting him and the reason has nothing to do with his sexual orientation.