# Top college football prospect \[Michael Sam\] comes out **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939 "2014-02-10T02:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/61 "2014-02-10T22:53:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > They have all the momentum already. Seriously, this is not the biggest gays-in-sports story right now, nevermind the larger political and social issues going on outside of sports. Sam will get plenty of media coverage when he joins a team and starts playing, sure, but I think you’re overstating the Apocalypticness of this by a factor of about 100. And by definition the news always moves on to new things. He’s not going to be the only story in the NFL this year. But he’ll be a much bigger story than he deserves to be. He’ll get a LOT more attention than any 4th round draft pick should. (Just as Jason Collins got way more coverage than any 35 year old benchwarmer should.) Moreover, Michael Sam’s chances of lasting in the NFL (much less starring) are iffy. He’s PROBABLY too small to be a real defensive end, but he’s PROBABLY too heavy and slow to be an effective linebacker. Scouts don’t put much stock in his much touted 11.5 sacks, because he piled up most of those sacks against a few weak teams. He’s definitely going to be a project for whichever team takes him. If he just doesn’t pan out (and there’s a very strong chance he won’t), I can already see how the media will react. They’ll be FURIOUS if he’s cut. NFL execs know that, which makes them even less eager to draft him. Now, if Jadaveon Clowney were gay, there’d be no problem. He’d STILL go in the top 3, and even homophobic fans would probably applaud him as soon as he started accumulating sacks. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/62 "2014-02-10T23:02:29Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > But he’ll be a much bigger story than he deserves to be. There’s no objective “deserves” here. > [@](#): > > Moreover, Michael Sam’s chances of lasting in the NFL (much less starring) are iffy. It depends. A guy who gets drafted in the third round is going to get a chance to stick around. If he’s drafted later on, he might not get much more than an invitation to training camp. > [@](#): > > I can already see how the media will react. They’ll be FURIOUS if he’s cut. Yeah, yeah. I got the message already: gays and the media are going to be really unfair about this. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/63 "2014-02-10T23:44:47Z")
Well, [Matt Birk thinks he’ll be ok in the locker room](http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/116355/inside-slant-michael-sam-and-locker-rooms), so that must be a relief. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/64 "2014-02-11T00:00:53Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Well, [Matt Birk thinks he’ll be ok in the locker room](http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/116355/inside-slant-michael-sam-and-locker-rooms), so that must be a relief. :rolleyes: Why the roll eyes? I guess he could have come back with a “no comment.” He was contacted by a reporter about his opinion and he gave it. I can’t see anything wrong with what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/65 "2014-02-11T00:18:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Why the roll eyes? I guess he could have come back with a “no comment.” He was contacted by a reporter about his opinion and he gave it. I can’t see anything wrong with what he said. He worked against allowing gays to marry, but doesn’t think they’ll have any issue on a football team. “Oh, he’s a hard worker, but I wouldn’t want my son to marry one.” Just an odd choice to contact on this particular issue. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/66 "2014-02-11T01:03:27Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Adding an openly gay player would be a polarizing issue to a third of the country (both extremes combined), and the media will use this polarization to generate ratings. It would be treated by the media like it was Jackie Robinson all over again. (even though it’s not the same in all respects) I agree, and in that sense: 1. It has to be done 2. It’s overdue Sorry to those looking for an excuse to not draft him because he’s small or whatever, he doesn’t have to be a superstar. He can go in the 5th round, get a cheap one year contract, sit on the bench, and be done. Sacrificial lamb, but he’ll still break the barrier. Then if the NEXT kid is Gay Andrew Luck, no one will have to use the word “distraction” anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/67 "2014-02-11T01:18:41Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > He worked against allowing gays to marry, but doesn’t think they’ll have any issue on a football team. “Oh, he’s a hard worker, but I wouldn’t want my son to marry one.” Just an odd choice to contact on this particular issue. Maybe so, but it’s not surprising, either. Like I mentioned before, there were a couple players on the '93 Oilers team whose homosexuality was an open secret in the locker room. They didn’t have an issue from their own teammates, but I imagine they heard some stuff from opponents. And there were some very openly homophobic players on that team. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/68 "2014-02-11T01:33:03Z")
I don’t know enough about football, so would his skillset translate enough that a team might pick him up and move him to a new position, given that he’s apparently undersized for his current one in the NFL? Would that help his draft potential? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/69 "2014-02-11T01:52:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t know if the Seahawks need help at LB (I’ve also read that he’s likely to move), but is anyone going to say Pete Carroll wouldn’t take a chance on an openly gay player? I haven’t followed anything about Carroll since he left USC right before NCAA sanctions, but why do you think he’s more gay accepting than any other coach? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/70 "2014-02-11T01:58:50Z")
I have to wonder where some of you people live who think he’s going to be a huge distraction. This is 2014 for chrissakes. There are gay characters on TV, gay politicians, and Ellen DeGeneris has one of the highest rated talk shows there is. There are openly gay athletes in golf, tennis, soccer, basketball and nobody seems to care. I predict that this will be a story for about a week and then nobody but some old guys will care. As long as he helps the team win, he’ll be accepted just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/71 "2014-02-11T02:04:41Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > He worked against allowing gays to marry, but doesn’t think they’ll have any issue on a football team. “Oh, he’s a hard worker, but I wouldn’t want my son to marry one.” Just an odd choice to contact on this particular issue. Probably thought he would get a controversial quote out of him but didn’t. > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I don’t know enough about football, so would his skillset translate enough that a team might pick him up and move him to a new position, given that he’s apparently undersized for his current one in the NFL? Would that help his draft potential? It depends on his speed. There are plenty of large men. What sets the NFL players apart from mere mortals who happen to be big is their speed. Even the biggest guys are very quick for short distances. Each position has a certain body type they look for. Its not just tradition or narrow thinking. Its years of putting people in those positions. A defensive end needs to be quick to get around the outside and to stop screen passes. But he also has to be big to contain the run to the inside and not get crushed by fullbacks and stunting offensive linemen when they run outside. Sam is smaller than they want DEs to be. His size seems to be better suited for the linebacker position in the NFL. But outside linebackers need to be fast enough to drop back into pass coverage. Many times they are the only ones covering the running back when he becomes a receiver. The question before the the story came out was if he was fast enough for that position in the NFL. Many scouts did not think so. But they will find out for sure at the combine in a few weeks. I can’t see any other position he might be suited for. There is a very long list of college stars that were not right for the NFL. There is a good chance he will be one of them. But who knows, he might surprise people. It has happened before. If I was forced to guess I would say he will make it to the NFL as a bench/situational‎ player. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/72 "2014-02-11T02:14:51Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I have to wonder where some of you people live who think he’s going to be a huge distraction. This is 2014 for chrissakes. There are gay characters on TV, gay politicians, and Ellen DeGeneris has one of the highest rated talk shows there is. There are openly gay athletes in golf, tennis, soccer, basketball and nobody seems to care. I predict that this will be a story for about a week and then nobody but some old guys will care. As long as he helps the team win, he’ll be accepted just fine. I don’t know how big a fan you are or if you are a fan. This is about if a coach wants his training camp to be a circus or not. Every year every coach is fighting for their job. It is not a forever thing. Its a training camp thing. Normally they have a few sports reporters poking around training camp. The coaching staff has to take the 90 guys they have and knock it down to 53 in a short amount of time. Whatever team picks him will have reporters from every news organization imaginable at their camp. Some coaches might not care. Most wouldn’t care if they were sure the guy was a bankable star. Many coaches are going to care about dealing with the distraction about one unproven rookie. The draft is full of unproven rookies with questions about their NFL worthiness. Easier to take another guy who does not have the circus trailing behind him. If he makes a team this year it won’t be an issue next year. But this year it will be an issue to consider. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/73 "2014-02-11T02:21:26Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I haven’t followed anything about Carroll since he left USC right before NCAA sanctions, but why do you think he’s more gay accepting than any other coach? Nothing specific. But he’s smart, he keeps things relatively loose by NFL standards and doesn’t seem like the type to insist that a player can’t be good unless he conforms to a stereotype of traditional masculinity. And he isn’t the type to say his team can’t handle a “distraction.” ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/74 "2014-02-11T02:52:08Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I have to wonder where some of you people live who think he’s going to be a huge distraction. This is 2014 for chrissakes. There are gay characters on TV, gay politicians, and Ellen DeGeneris has one of the highest rated talk shows there is. There are openly gay athletes in golf, tennis, soccer, basketball and nobody seems to care. I predict that this will be a story for about a week and then nobody but some old guys will care. As long as he helps the team win, he’ll be accepted just fine. Unfortunately, none of those sports or business endeavors are **football**. Football, baseball,boxing and probably racing are all the most “masculine seeming” of sports. By that I mean that they have no history of gay or bisexual athletes coming out during their career and their cultures would probably strongly discourage anyone from coming out before they retire. In fact, most players, even those who are probably or almost certainly closeted gay or bisexual men, have not not come out even after retiring. Looking at you K. Stewart, S. Koufax, E. Griffith and and perhaps J. Gordon. If this guy makes it to the pros, cool. If he doesn’t then it’s not going to be a surprise. He is going to have a LOT of his mind when/if he tries out for the pros and those distractions could be just enough for him to perform below the level where they’ll consider drafting him. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/75 "2014-02-11T04:10:21Z")
In defense of my subject line: I’m not a huge football fan, but as far as I’m concerned, a midround pick is still a “top prospect,” considering how many men there must be out there who don’t get anywhere close to that. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/76 "2014-02-11T04:11:54Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t know how big a fan you are or if you are a fan. This is about if a coach wants his training camp to be a circus or not. Every year every coach is fighting for their job. I’m a fan, but I don’t know why everyone thinks it will be a circus. Do you really think a gay guy is that big of a deal? Do you think that story will sell more newspapers or get more eyeballs? His Missouri team knew all about it all season and they went 12-2 and nobody got the vapors or felt the need to comment about it to the media. It just wasn’t an issue, and it won’t be in the NFL either. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/77 "2014-02-11T04:47:18Z")
It’s a little naive to say it’s not going to be a big deal, **Lamar Mundane**. Today this is the top story on websites in sports and hard news. It’ll be a big story for a while, and then it won’t be such a big deal. They can’t send cameras to film him all day every day at training camp and put his stats on the front page every single week. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/78 "2014-02-11T05:01:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s a little naive to say it’s not going to be a big deal, **Lamar Mundane**. Today this is the top story on websites in sports and hard news. It’ll be a big story for a while, and then it won’t be such a big deal. They can’t send cameras to film him all day every day at training camp and put his stats on the front page every single week. And they’re not going to do that when training camp begins, either. It’s just not that big of a deal anymore. I doubt you’ll see many stories about this tomorrow. “Oooh, gay dude” just isn’t a story with any legs anymore. Maybe it would be if NFL teams were located in Enid, OK or Topeka, KS, but they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/79 "2014-02-11T05:16:39Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I have to wonder where some of you people live who think he’s going to be a huge distraction. This is 2014 for chrissakes. There are gay characters on TV, gay politicians, and Ellen DeGeneris has one of the highest rated talk shows there is. There are openly gay athletes in golf, tennis, soccer, basketball and nobody seems to care. I predict that this will be a story for about a week and then nobody but some old guys will care. As long as he helps the team win, he’ll be accepted just fine. Nobody will even touch Chris Kluwe, and he isn’t gay, he just happens to be a straight player who’s gay friendly and outspoken about it. He’s a “distraction”. I hope he takes the Vikings for their entire net worth in his lawsuit, but it’ll probably get thrown out because the NFL has legal protection. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939/80 "2014-02-11T05:20:22Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > And they’re not going to do that when training camp begins, either. It’s just not that big of a deal anymore. I doubt you’ll see many stories about this tomorrow. > > “Oooh, gay dude” just isn’t a story with any legs anymore. Maybe it would be if NFL teams were located in Enid, OK or Topeka, KS, but they’re not. I first read this story at the top of the New York Times site and it’s been all over ESPN today. It’ll still be in the news tomorrow, and you’ll hear about it periodically after that, like at the draft combine in two weeks. It’ll be in the news a few times in the offseason and into the start of the season assuming Sam is on a team. There isn’t a single openly gay guy playing in the NFL, NBA, or Major League Baseball. This man is probably going to be the first, and you can’t tell me that’s a non-event in that context. Over the weekend the federal government extended benefits to gay couples living in states that don’t recognize same-sex marriages (_which is still most of them_) and that decision was also front page news. Sorry, but it’s too soon to say gay rights stuff isn’t a big deal anymore. Call me when the Supreme Court decides that bans on gay marriage violate the Constitution. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-college-football-prospect-michael-sam-comes-out/680939.md?page=5)