"We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014."
-the NFL
I was stunned, then very happy, when I saw that University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam had announced that he is gay. I knew that we were getting close to the day that an openly gay football player would be stepping on an NFL field but I was still a little stunned when that day turned out to be this past Sunday. It was a good day. It will be an even better day when news like this is really no news at all. I thought that Sam's timing was perfect. He's only days away from the Scouting Combine and the start of the marathon that is the draft evaluation process. He's controlling the situation. He's getting ahead of the story. He's giving the NFL scouts, general managers, and coaches the news now so they don't have to ask him probing questions later. I'm sure that they'll still have some but now they won't have to be poking around at rumors. I was a little disappointed when I later learned that Sam and his advisers were forced to make the announcement on Sunday because some parasites in the media were on the verge of breaking the story for themselves. Most everyone around the Missouri football team has known that Michael Sam is gay for a while. He came out to his team before the start of the 2013 football season but many teammates already knew. While everyone in Columbia was respectful of Sam's little secret it's hard to keep it a secret for long. Several NFL teams already knew or knew enough to be suspicious. When the media gets wind of something like this it becomes a race to be the first to break the story. The desires and needs of the subject of the story rarely matters much. While I think that it's great that Michael Sam came out before the Combine, I don't like that he felt forced to do so.
So, we now have an openly gay football player. An openly gay football player that will be entering the NFL in a few short months. I'm not quite sure why but I always assumed that the first player would be an established NFL player. Maybe I just never really thought about the particulars of when it finally happened. Maybe I simply assumed that no player would be so bold and brave to come out during the draft evaluation window. Now that a player has come out, it just seems perfect that the first player has put all the cards on the table from the beginning. We've heard from one anonymous general manager that he doesn't think that a football team is ready to deal with an openly gay teammate. That seems like a ridiculous statement as the Missouri football team just dealt with one for an entire season. A very successful 12-2 football season. A very successful season in which an openly gay football player played a significant role. As has always been the case, ignorant people fear the unknown. They'd rather hide the issue than deal with it. I think that a football team is receptive of any football player that helps the team win. I think that a football team will always accept a teammate that is gay over a teammate that is an asshole.
Las Vegas already has an over/under on the spot at which Michael Sam will be selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Currently that spot is set at 125.5. That's just past the midpoint of the fourth round. He's an excellent pass rusher so there will be a spot for him in the NFL. At about 6'1" and under 260 lbs, Sam doesn't have ideal size for a defensive end, the position that he played at Missouri. He's sort of caught between a 3-4 outside linebacker and a 4-3 defensive end. His size is comparable to that of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dummervil. Prior to arriving in Baltimore, Dummervil was a pass rushing demon at defensive end for the Denver Broncos. I think that Sam is better coming forward as a defensive end than backing up as a linebacker. The strength of Sam's character and resolve is certainly without doubt. All it takes is a shot and I think that Michael Sam will get his. I think he will make the most of that opportunity and I don't think that his teammates will care that he's gay.
The NFL will be a far better place with Michael Sam in it. One day, an openly gay professional football player will not be an issue at all. It takes one football player stepping forward to start the process of getting to that day. We now have that football player. Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Kenny Washington, and Woody Strode made similar first steps that started the return of black players to professional football. Michael Sam just wants to play football on his terms. We'll all be better for that.
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