Knicks · O.T Michael Sams : Im a college graduate, African American and Im A GAY FOOTBALL PLAYER (page 1)

No young player will risk their lively hood in pro sports without having already receiving some financial compensation to support himself if he isn't accepted.

A young players would make sure they had their contract signed 1st and wouldn't take that chance. So either way he expects to either sue the league for discrimination or get a contract like every other player. It's a win win for him. This is about legal issues or gay agenda, not sports.

I don't think people cared if he is gay or not, just make plays and impress your coaches and teammates. To me he put this out here for more than the reasons given. This puts a lot of media pressure on coaches , players and management.

Eight unnamed NFL executives and coaches told Sports Illustrated that Sam’s draft stock would likely plummet.

Coming out will drop his draft status because not all teams have the same charactor in its locker room and leadership. Think Miami would want this after last year?

A strong team like SF and Seattle might given its a strong team, a winning team with a strong coach. Also some cities are more open.
Your not just asking players to accept but stand by a fellow teammate.

I doubt A Texas team takes him, or one from the bible belt but someone will.

He'll have to be very good player and thick skinned.

I suppose he and his support system, including the NFL think its best to be open before the draft.

Manti Teo was nearly obscure after his thing last year in San diego. This will be much different, will cause a lot of attention and likley draw ratings increase,

I bet he slips to the 4-5th round and a team on northern coast takes him. NY, NE, Sea, SF, SD, Ariz... you know place in an environment w/ a strong community for him. He's an average prospect. He's a DE in a LBs body. His stats are inflated against horrible teams but he's a good kid, plays like a madman and his team loves him. Will be interesting to follow.

fishmike wrote:playa... your completely out of touch with this guy.

I bet he slips to the 4-5th round and a team on northern coast takes him. NY, NE, Sea, SF, SD, Ariz... you know place in an environment w/ a strong community for him. He's an average prospect. He's a DE in a LBs body. His stats are inflated against horrible teams but he's a good kid, plays like a madman and his team loves him. Will be interesting to follow.

Fishmike, I think you are out of touch in how people go to extreme measures to get their agendas out in our society today.

He's already projected as a 4th rd pick before he made his agenda known to all, but Eight unnamed NFL executives and coaches said his draft stock would likely plummet after he made the announcement to the world. I didn't say his draft status would plummet they did. He's a spokesperson for minority community because he has a platform to do so. But you don't risk potential revenue unless you have someone or something to back you up if all fails.

Wouldn't you want to get guaranteed money 1st by making a roster, why would you risk potentially losing a higher salary when you are already projected as a 4th or 5th rd pick.

Doesn't make sense to me Fishmike I have nothing against Sams, his approach just isn't logical to me if it's all about making money and playing the game he loves.

fishmike wrote:playa.. whats is his agenda and what are the 'extreme measures' he's taken?

That comment tells me you are out of touch with our society sir.

Why, because you don't want to be in a locker room full of straight guys that tell gay jokes. I don't support being gay but I certainly respect each's own..do you, why drag half of a nation into this drama

I don't think any rational human being puts suing his/her dream employer in front of working for his/her dream employer

knicks1248 wrote:I agree with playa, why is it when some comes out the damn closet it's national attention, who the fck cares that he's gay, if your good, play hard and live a solid respectable life what else really matters. Who you fck is your own business coiming out seems like he has other motives.

Why, because you don't want to be in a locker room full of straight guys that tell gay jokes. I don't support being gay but I certainly respect each's own..do you, why drag half of a nation into this drama

For the same reason that people like you think they need to have an opinion of someone's sexual orientation. It's the 21st century and yet members of the LGBT community can actually be fired for being gay in many Southern states due to the absence of "sexual orientation" in the legal definitions of discrimination. I was reading an article from the Huffington Post just yesterday about an Oklahoma City restaurant owner who refuses to serve homosexuals: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4746095

That community needs a champion and sports is an excellent arena for one. It offers the opportunity to challenge false, preconceived notions and to demonstrate a content of character ala Jackie Robinson. That is worth more than draft projections, or money IMO.

It's been almost 20 years since Time Magazine had Ellen Degeneris coming out and it's still a national media day event?

Spare me the comparisons to race, because they don't work.
Suppose he came out and said he's an animist or a Scientologist? What difference does that make to a football player?

Play for attention. Anyone talking about Michael Sams before this?

playa2 wrote:

fishmike wrote:playa... your completely out of touch with this guy.

I bet he slips to the 4-5th round and a team on northern coast takes him. NY, NE, Sea, SF, SD, Ariz... you know place in an environment w/ a strong community for him. He's an average prospect. He's a DE in a LBs body. His stats are inflated against horrible teams but he's a good kid, plays like a madman and his team loves him. Will be interesting to follow.

Fishmike, I think you are out of touch in how people go to extreme measures to get their agendas out in our society today.

He's already projected as a 4th rd pick before he made his agenda known to all, but Eight unnamed NFL executives and coaches said his draft stock would likely plummet after he made the announcement to the world. I didn't say his draft status would plummet they did. He's a spokesperson for minority community because he has a platform to do so. But you don't risk potential revenue unless you have someone or something to back you up if all fails.

Wouldn't you want to get guaranteed money 1st by making a roster, why would you risk potentially losing a higher salary when you are already projected as a 4th or 5th rd pick.

Doesn't make sense to me Fishmike I have nothing against Sams, his approach just isn't logical to me if it's all about making money and playing the game he loves.

There is no such thing as guaranteed money in the NFL, so Sams isn't really losing anything. All he is doing is setting the table and letting teams know ahead of time to avoid being drafted by a team in some state dumb enough to think that "God Hates Fags" and causes natural disasters for it. Quite honestly, I don't see anything wrong with what he did unless you're someone that believes in such a thing as a "gay agenda". I'm not even sure what that could possibly be.

playa2 wrote:

fishmike wrote:playa.. whats is his agenda and what are the 'extreme measures' he's taken?

That comment tells me you are out of touch with our society sir.

So I will ask you again. What is his agenda, and what are the 'extreme measures' he's taken?

They supported him. My opinion from what I read he was living an openly gay lifestyle anyway and Im sure most GM's knew this.

Like I said, some teams can handle it better than others.

Why announce it? Im sure there has been many gay players but they kept it to themselves. NFL lockerroom is a tough place.

Lets be honest, the first openly gay athlete has to make this announcement. Im not comparing it to Jackie Robinson with the one exception that once he crossed that barrier and once done it was common when black men played. Then it was "no big deal". (im not saying it wasn't, but not newsworthy!)

IM sure it was tough as hell for black players to be subject to "black jokes" but at some time society adjusted to where it became less and less commonplace. IN a sport that is dominated by black players and a culture that rejects "alternative" relationships I suppose only he can answer why he came out. Many are uncomfortable with this, even on this board. Thats just how it is.

The laws are changing and the Miami thing last year has addressed some things. The Justice Department is treating federal law for all 50 states regarding discrimination. Times are changing, this guy if he is good enough will make a team, and have a tough road. If he succeeds, its no big deal.

knicks1248 wrote:I agree with playa, why is it when some comes out the damn closet it's national attention, who the fck cares that he's gay, if your good, play hard and live a solid respectable life what else really matters. Who you fck is your own business coiming out seems like he has other motives.

Why, because you don't want to be in a locker room full of straight guys that tell gay jokes. I don't support being gay but I certainly respect each's own..do you, why drag half of a nation into this drama

knicks1248 wrote:I agree with playa, why is it when some comes out the damn closet it's national attention, who the fck cares that he's gay, if your good, play hard and live a solid respectable life what else really matters. Who you fck is your own business coiming out seems like he has other motives.

Why, because you don't want to be in a locker room full of straight guys that tell gay jokes. I don't support being gay but I certainly respect each's own..do you, why drag half of a nation into this drama

jrodmc wrote:Ahhhhh, sexual preference. Parades. Coming Out.
If you wanted to be accepted as normal, why does it have to be turned into a freak show every time? How's it working out for Jason Collins?

It's been almost 20 years since Time Magazine had Ellen Degeneris coming out and it's still a national media day event?

Spare me the comparisons to race, because they don't work.
Suppose he came out and said he's an animist or a Scientologist? What difference does that make to a football player?

Play for attention. Anyone talking about Michael Sams before this?

Is it Michael Sams turning this into a "freakshow" or the media? It seems like you're accusing the former for it and not the latter, given the tone of your post.

And sexual orientation absolutely is equitable to race. It is, after all, an element of the human character. And like any element of the human character, people can choose to hate and disparage it because of arbitrary reasons. As I've already pointed out, people can still be fired today for being gay....just like how minorities were barred from jobs before the 60s. It's just not frequently discussed in those terms because (1) minorities can be extremely homophobic, which forces many not to embrace this embattled community and (2) the LGTB community is projected to be smaller than most racial minorities, which makes it easier to beat up on them. The fact is that they are the same boat though.

NardDogNation wrote:

jrodmc wrote:Ahhhhh, sexual preference. Parades. Coming Out.
If you wanted to be accepted as normal, why does it have to be turned into a freak show every time? How's it working out for Jason Collins?

It's been almost 20 years since Time Magazine had Ellen Degeneris coming out and it's still a national media day event?

Spare me the comparisons to race, because they don't work.
Suppose he came out and said he's an animist or a Scientologist? What difference does that make to a football player?

Play for attention. Anyone talking about Michael Sams before this?

Is it Michael Sams turning this into a "freakshow" or the media? It seems like you're accusing the former for it and not the latter, given the tone of your post.

And sexual orientation absolutely is equitable to race. It is, after all, an element of the human character. And like any element of the human character, people can choose to hate and disparage it because of arbitrary reasons. As I've already pointed out, people can still be fired today for being gay....just like how minorities were barred from jobs before the 60s. It's just not frequently discussed in those terms because (1) minorities can be extremely homophobic, which forces many not to embrace this embattled community and (2) the LGTB community is projected to be smaller than most racial minorities, which makes it easier to beat up on them. The fact is that they are the same.

Freakshow? If anything he spared everyone that. He could have just done well at the combine, played well, earned a spot then when he has his first big game on a Monday night and they interview him at the post game dropped it then. Instead he probably wanted to avoid the freakshow, let everyone know ahead of time and go be who he is. A gay dude who plays football.

NFL players need to man-up and stop being dumb fucks. They are supposed to be role models. They don't like gay players, go work in a car wash somewhere.

Sams would be welcome on the Giants if he's got game. We love us some ass kicking DEs.

NardDogNation wrote:

jrodmc wrote:Ahhhhh, sexual preference. Parades. Coming Out.
If you wanted to be accepted as normal, why does it have to be turned into a freak show every time? How's it working out for Jason Collins?

It's been almost 20 years since Time Magazine had Ellen Degeneris coming out and it's still a national media day event?

Spare me the comparisons to race, because they don't work.
Suppose he came out and said he's an animist or a Scientologist? What difference does that make to a football player?

Play for attention. Anyone talking about Michael Sams before this?

Is it Michael Sams turning this into a "freakshow" or the media? It seems like you're accusing the former for it and not the latter, given the tone of your post.

And sexual orientation absolutely is equitable to race. It is, after all, an element of the human character. And like any element of the human character, people can choose to hate and disparage it because of arbitrary reasons. As I've already pointed out, people can still be fired today for being gay....just like how minorities were barred from jobs before the 60s. It's just not frequently discussed in those terms because (1) minorities can be extremely homophobic, which forces many not to embrace this embattled community and (2) the LGTB community is projected to be smaller than most racial minorities, which makes it easier to beat up on them. The fact is that they are the same.

And what facts do you use to support the "fact" that a preference is the same as a racial minority? Because other people's reactions justify the comparison? Seriously, that's what you bring to the table?

Leave hate and disparagement aside, and just address the question. Human character is the same as race? Element of human character? What are you talking about? You make statements and then talk in a circle. Gays are like race because bad people do bad things to them, and people who actually are a particular race don't react well on the whole to them. So in your world, that makes sexual preference the same as race.

Elephants and tables both have 4 legs. Sometimes people sit on both of them. Are they the same?

jrodmc wrote:Ahhhhh, sexual preference. Parades. Coming Out.
If you wanted to be accepted as normal, why does it have to be turned into a freak show every time? How's it working out for Jason Collins?

It's been almost 20 years since Time Magazine had Ellen Degeneris coming out and it's still a national media day event?

Spare me the comparisons to race, because they don't work.
Suppose he came out and said he's an animist or a Scientologist? What difference does that make to a football player?

Play for attention. Anyone talking about Michael Sams before this?

Many will read what you just said and close their eyes, people are pushing their agenda in small increments so most won't even notice the big picture. Nobody has been denied to play pro sports by just keeping it to themselves.

So if we just do the math,you will see they are demanding something from heterosexual community to APPROVE of and not just tolerate and get along with.

Mike Sams and those he's speaking for are using the media for their agenda, not that big of a secret if you are in touch with how people use the media for their own personal agenda.

There are people who don't accept minorities as equals, but there are laws to make sure there rights are protected. LGTB is only now getting such protection. That don't mean people like it.

Can't take Sam's and make it impossible for him to succeed because he is gay. IM sure there have been players denied the chance if their team did not support them. He is basically let the world know he expects to be drafted by a team that would support him. Why draft a kid to destroy him?

If a GM thinks his team won't, or the owner don't want any part of it perhaps thats better. His status will drop, but that happens all the time.

If shows he can play at that level but cut because he is gay, its now the same as if he was cut because he was black, or hispanic, or Asian!