[needle]

Mizzou DE (and AP SEC Defensive POY) Michael Sam comes out after Senior Bowl

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/1...s-says-gay

Sam's decision to speak out now -- in interviews with ESPN and the New York Times -- comes after his experience two weeks ago at the Senior Bowl, where, he said, many already seemed aware of his sexual orientation.

"I didn't realize how many people actually knew, and I was afraid that someone would tell or leak something out about me," he said. "I want to own my truth. ... No one else should tell my story but me."

He had already confided in a few close friends, Sam recalled, and had dated a fellow athlete who was not a football player -- so while coming out to his Mizzou teammates last year was a key moment, it came almost as an afterthought, during preseason training camp.

"Coaches just wanted to know a little about ourselves, our majors, where we're from, and something that no one knows about you," Sam said. "And I used that opportunity just to tell them that I was gay. And their reaction was like, 'Michael Sam finally told us.' "

This explanation totally makes sense to me. I respect (but don't agree) with views of some that people should just completely shut up about their sex life forever and ever if they're gay. Given the way things worked out, it's hopefully very hard to discredit Sam's motivation for coming out publicly. I wish him the best and, based on the ESPN interview, Sam seems like a very, very mature individual. Hopefully that will help him handle the scrutiny he's going to receive for the rest of his playing career.

[needle]

Mizzou DE (and AP SEC Defensive POY) Michael Sam comes out after Senior Bowl

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/1...s-says-gay

Sam's decision to speak out now -- in interviews with ESPN and the New York Times -- comes after his experience two weeks ago at the Senior Bowl, where, he said, many already seemed aware of his sexual orientation.

"I didn't realize how many people actually knew, and I was afraid that someone would tell or leak something out about me," he said. "I want to own my truth. ... No one else should tell my story but me."

He had already confided in a few close friends, Sam recalled, and had dated a fellow athlete who was not a football player -- so while coming out to his Mizzou teammates last year was a key moment, it came almost as an afterthought, during preseason training camp.

"Coaches just wanted to know a little about ourselves, our majors, where we're from, and something that no one knows about you," Sam said. "And I used that opportunity just to tell them that I was gay. And their reaction was like, 'Michael Sam finally told us.' "

This explanation totally makes sense to me. I respect (but don't agree) with views of some that people should just completely shut up about their sex life forever and ever if they're gay. Given the way things worked out, it's hopefully very hard to discredit Sam's motivation for coming out publicly. I wish him the best and, based on the ESPN interview, Sam seems like a very, very mature individual. Hopefully that will help him handle the scrutiny he's going to receive for the rest of his playing career.

[BostonCard]

What was gratifying is that each time this happens it becomes less of a story.  While I am sure there was some internal struggle involved, his coming out didn't seem at all contrived or like it was a particularly big deal, which is as it should be.  My favorite quote:

“Once I became official to my teammates, I knew who I was. I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay. I was so proud of myself and I just didn’t care who knew. If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay. Is that true?’ I would have said yes. But no one asked. I guess they don’t want to ask a 6-3, 260-pound defensive lineman if he was gay or not,” – Michael Sam

Add: And a nice tweet from Shayne Skov

Shayne Skov ‏@ShayneSkov11  7h
Much respect to @MikeSamFootball for having the confidence and courage to share a piece of who he is. Wishing him success on n off the field
Expand

BC

[BostonCard]

What was gratifying is that each time this happens it becomes less of a story.  While I am sure there was some internal struggle involved, his coming out didn't seem at all contrived or like it was a particularly big deal, which is as it should be.  My favorite quote:

“Once I became official to my teammates, I knew who I was. I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay. I was so proud of myself and I just didn’t care who knew. If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay. Is that true?’ I would have said yes. But no one asked. I guess they don’t want to ask a 6-3, 260-pound defensive lineman if he was gay or not,” – Michael Sam

Add: And a nice tweet from Shayne Skov

Shayne Skov ‏@ShayneSkov11  7h
Much respect to @MikeSamFootball for having the confidence and courage to share a piece of who he is. Wishing him success on n off the field
Expand

BC

[Bruce Wang]

Having an openly gay teammate didn't seem to stop Missouri from winning the SEC East.  Being a distraction must have stopped him from taking the next step.

Unfortunately his draft stock will probably take a hit.  The Colts are a logical destination.  They are known to have a healthy locker room atmosphere.  With Andrew as the leader there, that could be one of the better places for him to land.

[Bruce Wang]

Having an openly gay teammate didn't seem to stop Missouri from winning the SEC East.  Being a distraction must have stopped him from taking the next step.

Unfortunately his draft stock will probably take a hit.  The Colts are a logical destination.  They are known to have a healthy locker room atmosphere.  With Andrew as the leader there, that could be one of the better places for him to land.

[stupac2]

Having an openly gay teammate didn't seem to stop Missouri from winning the SEC East.  Being a distraction must have stopped him from taking the next step.

Unfortunately his draft stock will probably take a hit.  The Colts are a logical destination.  They are known to have a healthy locker room atmosphere.  With Andrew as the leader there, that could be one of the better places for him to land.

In the reddit thread on this story some fan of every team out there said they wanted him. I know that reddit's demographics are seriously skewed, but still, it's really nice to see.

[stupac2]

Having an openly gay teammate didn't seem to stop Missouri from winning the SEC East.  Being a distraction must have stopped him from taking the next step.

Unfortunately his draft stock will probably take a hit.  The Colts are a logical destination.  They are known to have a healthy locker room atmosphere.  With Andrew as the leader there, that could be one of the better places for him to land.

In the reddit thread on this story some fan of every team out there said they wanted him. I know that reddit's demographics are seriously skewed, but still, it's really nice to see.

[BostonCard]

Already speculation that this will negatively affect his draft stock:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college...aft-stock/

The executives and coaches were granted anonymity by SI.com for their honesty. Their answers were consistently unsparing.
"I don't think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet," said an NFL player personnel assistant. "In the coming decade or two, it's going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it's still a man's-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room."

Anyone else note the irony in the fact that these guys are using the shield of anonymity given by Sports Illustrated to discuss Sam's decision to come out publicly.  At least Sam had the balls to make his orientation public.  These guys are a bunch of ****.

BC

[BostonCard]

Already speculation that this will negatively affect his draft stock:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college...aft-stock/

The executives and coaches were granted anonymity by SI.com for their honesty. Their answers were consistently unsparing.
"I don't think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet," said an NFL player personnel assistant. "In the coming decade or two, it's going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it's still a man's-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room."

Anyone else note the irony in the fact that these guys are using the shield of anonymity given by Sports Illustrated to discuss Sam's decision to come out publicly.  At least Sam had the balls to make his orientation public.  These guys are a bunch of ****.

BC

[stupac2]

One of these days a journalist needs to grow a pair and respond, "Do you know why football isn't ready for an openly gay player? The soft bigotry of cowards like you. Lead by example and the rest of the players and coaches will follow, and you know it."

[stupac2]

One of these days a journalist needs to grow a pair and respond, "Do you know why football isn't ready for an openly gay player? The soft bigotry of cowards like you. Lead by example and the rest of the players and coaches will follow, and you know it."

[rudruff]

I get the idea that there may be added media hassles, but the problem that I have with the locker room logic is that different teams have different cultures.

Martin and Incognito responses were facinating in that some players said hazing was a normal part of NFL cultures while others said that it wasn't tolerated on their teams.

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

[rudruff]

I get the idea that there may be added media hassles, but the problem that I have with the locker room logic is that different teams have different cultures.

Martin and Incognito responses were facinating in that some players said hazing was a normal part of NFL cultures while others said that it wasn't tolerated on their teams.

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

[BostonCard]

I get the idea that there may be added media hassles, but the problem that I have with the locker room logic is that different teams have different cultures.

Martin and Incognito responses were facinating in that some players said hazing was a normal part of NFL cultures while others said that it wasn't tolerated on their teams.

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

That's a very good point.  In the long run, he might help himself and his team.  A team with a well-adjusted locker room is going to get a draft-day steal.  And Sam has protected himself from going to a team where his path to success would be more challenging because of obstacles brought on by his teammates and coaches.

Still, it sucks that it should even come to that.  But hopefully thanks to Sam's willingness to come forward, the impact will be lessened on the next guy, and in a few years, it won't be relevant at all.

BC

[BostonCard]

I get the idea that there may be added media hassles, but the problem that I have with the locker room logic is that different teams have different cultures.

Martin and Incognito responses were facinating in that some players said hazing was a normal part of NFL cultures while others said that it wasn't tolerated on their teams.

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

That's a very good point.  In the long run, he might help himself and his team.  A team with a well-adjusted locker room is going to get a draft-day steal.  And Sam has protected himself from going to a team where his path to success would be more challenging because of obstacles brought on by his teammates and coaches.

Still, it sucks that it should even come to that.  But hopefully thanks to Sam's willingness to come forward, the impact will be lessened on the next guy, and in a few years, it won't be relevant at all.

BC

[Bruce Wang]

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

If Sam pulls that off, we might see more of this kind of response from draft prospects:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRtXfUz_Q5w

A couple more serious thoughts:

1. I had thought we'd see an openly gay active D-1 college player before the NFL.  What's remarkable is that his teammates respected his desire to keep it quiet.  Kudos to the Missouri football family on that front.

2. I had thought Stanford would be the first school to have an openly gay player.  Then again maybe there have been some and those of us outside the locker room just don't know.  And it wouldn't have been as ground breaking because it's Stanford.  Missouri is in the SEC and a former member of the Big-12, and in the Midwest.

[Bruce Wang]

While Sam may drop because of this, I think he has improved his chances of going to a well run organization.

If Sam pulls that off, we might see more of this kind of response from draft prospects:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRtXfUz_Q5w

A couple more serious thoughts:

1. I had thought we'd see an openly gay active D-1 college player before the NFL.  What's remarkable is that his teammates respected his desire to keep it quiet.  Kudos to the Missouri football family on that front.

2. I had thought Stanford would be the first school to have an openly gay player.  Then again maybe there have been some and those of us outside the locker room just don't know.  And it wouldn't have been as ground breaking because it's Stanford.  Missouri is in the SEC and a former member of the Big-12, and in the Midwest.

[dabigv13]

Stanford has been pretty groundbreaking on the gay athlete front...there was Jason Collins obviously, and then Kwame Harris. There have been football players at Stanford who weren't quite out, but nobody really needed to ask.

[dabigv13]

Stanford has been pretty groundbreaking on the gay athlete front...there was Jason Collins obviously, and then Kwame Harris. There have been football players at Stanford who weren't quite out, but nobody really needed to ask.

[BostonCard]

I liked Holly Anderson's take:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/michae...comes-out/

Also, I heard her interviewed on marketplace today, where she threw out the theory that his draft stock might not be impacted; and that "realistically, we also don't know that there aren't teams feeding negative information about him, so they can get him at a steal."

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/busine...et-drafted

BC

[BostonCard]

I liked Holly Anderson's take:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/michae...comes-out/

Also, I heard her interviewed on marketplace today, where she threw out the theory that his draft stock might not be impacted; and that "realistically, we also don't know that there aren't teams feeding negative information about him, so they can get him at a steal."

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/busine...et-drafted

BC

[Mick]

2. I had thought Stanford would be the first school to have an openly gay player.  Then again maybe there have been some and those of us outside the locker room just don't know.  And it wouldn't have been as ground breaking because it's Stanford.  Missouri is in the SEC and a former member of the Big-12, and in the Midwest.

To me that's the single most interesting aspect, that it wasn't an athlete at Stanford or Cal or UCLA, but a player at a school with (most likely) more than its fair share of redneck fans.  IMHO, it's more important for social mainstream acceptance that he come from a football factory rather than a comparatively liberal, left coast school

[Mick]

2. I had thought Stanford would be the first school to have an openly gay player.  Then again maybe there have been some and those of us outside the locker room just don't know.  And it wouldn't have been as ground breaking because it's Stanford.  Missouri is in the SEC and a former member of the Big-12, and in the Midwest.

To me that's the single most interesting aspect, that it wasn't an athlete at Stanford or Cal or UCLA, but a player at a school with (most likely) more than its fair share of redneck fans.  IMHO, it's more important for social mainstream acceptance that he come from a football factory rather than a comparatively liberal, left coast school

[BostonCard]

Stanford has been pretty groundbreaking on the gay athlete front...there was Jason Collins obviously, and then Kwame Harris. There have been football players at Stanford who weren't quite out, but nobody really needed to ask.

Stanford has come a long way from 1994, when a half dozen athletes vandalized the gay liberation statue.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=22...97,2240137

I don't like to bring up negatives WRT Stanford and Stanford athletics, but even two decades later, my gay friends from Stanford are still horrified that this happened.  Some still refuse to root for the Stanford football team.

BC

[BostonCard]

Stanford has been pretty groundbreaking on the gay athlete front...there was Jason Collins obviously, and then Kwame Harris. There have been football players at Stanford who weren't quite out, but nobody really needed to ask.

Stanford has come a long way from 1994, when a half dozen athletes vandalized the gay liberation statue.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=22...97,2240137

I don't like to bring up negatives WRT Stanford and Stanford athletics, but even two decades later, my gay friends from Stanford are still horrified that this happened.  Some still refuse to root for the Stanford football team.

BC

[dabigv13]

Interesting, something I'd never heard about. Thanks for sharing that.

[dabigv13]

Interesting, something I'd never heard about. Thanks for sharing that.

[97fan]

Stanford has come a long way from 1994, when a half dozen athletes vandalized the gay liberation statue.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=22...97,2240137

I don't like to bring up negatives WRT Stanford and Stanford athletics, but even two decades later, my gay friends from Stanford are still horrified that this happened.  Some still refuse to root for the Stanford football team.

BC

Stanford, and U.S. society more broadly, have indeed come a long way since 1994 when it comes to gay rights. My memory of the reaction to this incident is that most of the outrage came from the gay community on campus. Obviously there were statements of disapproval from other quarters, but the vandalism and the fallout from it did not stay in the pages of the Daily for all that long.

Imagine what the reaction would be like if a similar incident happened today. My guess is that we would see protests on campus in which the number of straight protesters far exceeds that of gay ones. Among straight Stanford students in 1994 there was a lot of indifference about gay rights. Today I'd guess the far more prevalent feeling is empathy. Which is definitely progress.

(If my memory is faulty, I'm sure someone will let me know. It's totally possible that what I'm remembering is more an indictment of how me and my friends reacted to the statue vandalism than it is of the reaction of straight students generally.)

[97fan]

Stanford has come a long way from 1994, when a half dozen athletes vandalized the gay liberation statue.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=22...97,2240137

I don't like to bring up negatives WRT Stanford and Stanford athletics, but even two decades later, my gay friends from Stanford are still horrified that this happened.  Some still refuse to root for the Stanford football team.

BC

Stanford, and U.S. society more broadly, have indeed come a long way since 1994 when it comes to gay rights. My memory of the reaction to this incident is that most of the outrage came from the gay community on campus. Obviously there were statements of disapproval from other quarters, but the vandalism and the fallout from it did not stay in the pages of the Daily for all that long.

Imagine what the reaction would be like if a similar incident happened today. My guess is that we would see protests on campus in which the number of straight protesters far exceeds that of gay ones. Among straight Stanford students in 1994 there was a lot of indifference about gay rights. Today I'd guess the far more prevalent feeling is empathy. Which is definitely progress.

(If my memory is faulty, I'm sure someone will let me know. It's totally possible that what I'm remembering is more an indictment of how me and my friends reacted to the statue vandalism than it is of the reaction of straight students generally.)

[Hurlburt88]

I remember multiple incidents of defacing this statue in the mid & late 80's as well.  It seemed a focal point  of an awareness & acceptance evolution. 

[Hurlburt88]

I remember multiple incidents of defacing this statue in the mid & late 80's as well.  It seemed a focal point  of an awareness & acceptance evolution.