Former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam announced to the public that he is gay on Feb. 9, but it was not the first time Sam admitted his sexual orientation to people.
He told his teammates before this last college football season started. The season ended with Sam earning Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year honors.
Although Sam’s announcement was newsworthy, it shouldn’t have been.
An NFL coach should not look into a player’s sexual orientation. Instead, he should focus on his on-field play.
The SEC is arguably the best conference in college football, and Sam excelled in it, so his draft stock should’ve been the discussion on ESPN all of last week rather than that he announced his homosexuality.
But it’s been newsworthy because the NFL is not ready for a gay player, and the reasoning may be because a significant portion of NFL players are immature.
We have seen this with Dolphins guard Richie Incognito’s alleged bullying and many other cases of players violating rules and spending their money on lavish goods like they are children.
The aftermath of the Incognito controversy is still in the news, and because there are definitely other players who share similar mindsets to Incognito’s, wherever Sam ends up could experience similar incidents of locker room turmoil.
Sam should be someone that the LGBT community admires, because he deserves that. Being the first person to enter the NFL Draft as an openly gay athlete should be as significant to Sam as winning the Super Bowl, but he’s not focused on his life off the field. He just wants to play football.
It seems ludicrous that the media focuses their coverage on his sexual preference. Isn’t the fight for equality a fight to be treated equal?
He shouldn’t receive any special attention for being gay, nor should he receive extra criticism, especially on the field, because who one thinks is attractive isn’t going to help him pick up a 4th-and-goal stop to win a game.
He’s already proven he can leave his social life at the door and still excel on the gridiron.
Only time will tell if NFL locker rooms can truly handle a situation similar to Sam’s, but hopefully grown men will understand that he has great potential in the NFL. If he performs well with the professionals and wins, why should it matter if he is homosexual?
A teammate that can help you win games sounds like a teammate any coach or player should want.
@Paulholden33
ph553412@ohiou.edu
