Michael Sam. First openly gay NFL players?

The media will be certain to ensure this does not happen.   This will be a major locker room distraction, not because teammates or management will care, but because the media will beat this story to death, dig it up and beat it to death again and again this year.  

Reporter: Hey, what's it like taking a shower with Aaron Rodgers? Are you attracted to any of the guys?

Michael Sam: Rodgers is great. He stares at me & I stare at him. We have a great working relationship. I keep my personal life out of the locker room. I'm friends with all the guys.

Does this really matter?

Well, it is the title of the thread and what we are discussing.    

Reading the sequence of (all) the posts on page 1, and your comments specifcially... When you posted "it", sure seemed like you were referring to his being gay, not the respect he got from his teammates.

Originally Posted by Diggr14:

This is a publicity stunt for this guy, pure and simple.. he is going after ad dollars and attention based purely on his sexuality. 

 

Much more important will be the length of his arms. If he has long arms teams will be much more likely to overlook his lack of height.

Duh, obviously, Diggy and his ilk will be paying him for sex.

because the media will beat this story to death, dig it up and beat it to death again and again

that's sure what was happening on Rome's radio show and the guy following, Gottlieb.  I couldn't bear it but kept checking back to see if they were still swinging the hammer and you bet they were.  over and over and over and over and over....

I look forward to the future when someone saying they're gay is about as earth shattering as someone saying they prefer quilted toilet paper to plain.  for now, you can find me in the corner with my fingers in my ears humming songs of freedom.

quote:

I am going to be kind of pissed off if a guy named Mike Sam doesn't end up playing Will.

Gee, the day after the big announcment it's still a prominent story? Glad I was sitting down for that revelation.

And here I thought we were going to have 24 solid hours of luge results.

Only skeleton results are important in this area.

how Dante feels

The only legitimate concern is the locker room.  I assume they separate men and women's locker rooms because of sexual desire.  If I am in a locker room full of naked women, of course I am having sexual thoughts.  No, I'm not walking around with an errection and yes I can control my eyes (not easy I net, have hard time not staring at fits when they are covered), but it's there.   They know it, I know it.. Awkward.

I assume it would be the same for a open gay man.   Maybe some of the guys here can enlighten me.  Not trying to be combatitive, but I don't understand the difference.

Maybe I am just a perv.

To add to that, we are talking about some of the most fit people on the planet as well.  Not the old dude blow drying his sack in the mirror at your local gym.

Westboro strongly disagrees with your nonsense.  

Best sentence ever.

Before anyone says I'm not comfortable in my sexuality, let me ask you this. Are women not comfortable in their sexuality and that's why they prefer not to undress in front of me? I would assume the answer is no. My guess is the reason they are not comfortable is because they know someone of the opposite sex is going to have sexual thoughts when seeing a naked body.  Now a gay man isn't opposite sex, but I assume the only difference in how our brains react to visual stimulation is the preference in genitalia.

Maybe there is more of a difference than simply preference.  Men and women brains react differently so maybe a gay man reacts less, like a woman?  No, that is not intended as an insult, it is a legitimate question given the issue at hand.  I tried finding some scientific research but my google skills are lacking.   I found this.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/re.../03/040316072953.htm

 

LOL...  That guy goes to my gym!!

You allow blacks in your gym?

Not everyone earns more than 65k, JJ.

No wonder he looks confused picking up that phone.  

Well, biologically they have very different breeding strategies and look for very different things in a partner/ mate. She has only a few precious eggs, so she is seeking the one best mate to make excellent babies and provide for them.

He on the other hand has billions of sperm and wants to spread them to as many mates as humanly possible.

 She is all about quality and he is all about quantity. She is discerning, he just wants to know that she is still breathing

So they look for and are stimulated by different things. ( how big is your wallet vs how perky your tits are). Yes indeed, their brains are different.

No clue what happens when both sides of the mating dance are seeking quantity over quality, but it probably helps explain the bears' recent drafts.

I would say you miss one thing, the higher thought of the individual and not just the biological imperative.  

What you cite in your experiences with women has as much to do with cultural expectations/norms women are faced with instead of being comfortable with their sexuality, which, to be honest, are often one in the same.

The conversation and the variables are extensive.  What everyone needs to ask themselves is what do you truly understand of others from your limited perspective.  That isn't meant as a insult, merely a fact we all deal with.  

I am just not interested. Call me when the first girl is drafted, or the first kid with no arms is drafted to be a kicker, or the first 60 year old geezer makes the team as a specialist. That would be interesting. This is boring.

Having to share they sexual preference is just annoying. Maybe tomorrow we can hear about the player that is still a virgin. (oops sorry, Tebow already did that) or the player that only will sleep with virgins, or the player that will only sleep with slump buster fat chicks, or chicks with no teeth. I don't care who Sams sleeps with no more than I care who Chris Borland from Wisconsin sleeps with. Can he play ball. Can he stop Adrian Peterson and not do a rope a dope like Hawk and get carried fifteen yards. That is all I care about.

The things white people do to us. Where the **** is the NAACP in the face of such atrocities?

WTF? "probably helps explain the bears' recent drafts"?!!!

BTW, doesn't explain all the guys I know who have totally out-kicked their coverage. Start with OBP and Kiel.

Sorry.  I just gotta be me.

Nice share, Henry.

No doubt that culture plays a role in why women are uncomfortable undressing in front of men, but I assert nature plays a more important role.

In my opinion, when we are asking if heterosexual men should be forced to accept an environment where gay men frequently see them naked, culture shouldn't come into the equation.  Well, now that I write that I see how ridiculous it is.  Culture will always play a role in how we interpret the data.  We know there is a chemical response in the brain,  it's how we react and percieve sex as a culture that determines how an individual "feels" about that chemical reaction.

In conclusion, I have no idea.. Lol.  I still think the biology matters as I don't see our culture drastically changing to the point where sex isn't a big deal.   Even if we progress to the point were gay sex isn't seen as taboo, will we progress to the point where we are comfortable with sexuality in general?

Whatever.. Go Packers..  

Good take.  Changing of societal norms is never a comfortable issue.  It can't be denied that this strikes not only at societal norms but human programming as well.

There are people who still struggle with being in the same locker room with men of a different race or at least have deep seeded reservations that come from years of cultural programming but still over the years it has lessened just by having to share that same space, which leads to understanding on a more personal level.

We as humans are a interesting lot.  What appears to be ironfast often melts away.

With the amount of scrutiny given to NFL draft prospects, I'd be surprised if most teams scouting departments were not already aware that he was gay, or at least that there were rumors.

That picture & the look on the guys face is priceless

Most if not all scouts knew about him being gay. He came out so as not to seem like he's hiding it plus this will die down by the time the combine rolls around.

Most of the news reports I've seen seem to think this guy is a 1st or 2nd rounder. No he isn't. I agree with Hungry5, he's 5th round at best.

Bottom line & most people have this take....

Can he play professional football? If so, let him play....if not, he won't be on an NFL football field. It's not due to his sexual orientation but because he can't play NFL football at a high level. 

Mike Sam "coming out" is nothing if he can't play. 

If any current superstar NFL player came out, that would be something.

I really think it's a non-issue for most teams.   While some meathead players like Vilma have spouted off about it I think the bigger issue are the front office people and/or coaches that seem to perpetuate a lot of the anti-gay bias.  Not sure if they think it'll be a distraction or that gay players somehow lack the stereotypical qualities they are looking for (i.e. tough, macho, etc) but if Sam didn't come out and say he was gay you wouldn't know any better.  He plays fast and is a leader and makes a lot of plays. 

The part I've never really understood about this whole issue are those that make a big production out of "what's it going be like in the locker room" when you know damn well that they have been plenty of gay players before Sam that have been in NFL locker rooms.  It's just the law of averages.  Chance are the majority of players "knew" or "know" gay players already.  

At some point this whole debate will change to "can he play football and help our team win?"   

Well, I can think of one person...................

Floridarob:

Having to share they sexual preference is just annoying.

Well, I think maybe a nuts and bolts (practical) way of assessing it is the proverbial water cooler conversation in the corporate sector.  So, let's say Joe, Ted, and Bill are at the water cooler.  They chat about if they are doing anything special for the weekend.

Joe is married and he and his wife are going to the beach.

Ted has a girl friend and they are going to a barbecue.

Bill is gay and he and his boy friend are heading for the White Mountains.

What is the best answer:

1. Each person openly shares what he is doing.

2. Joe and Ted can, but not Bill.  He should skip part of what he is really up to.

3. None of them can because doing so would indicate their sexuality.

The thing with the above and this topic is it has to do with the workplace.

 Do you moonlight as a corporate video director?!

So, let's say Joe, Ted, Steve, and Bill are at the water cooler. They chat about if they are doing anything special for the weekend...

Joe is married and he and his wife are going to the beach.

Ted has a girl friend and they are going to a barbecue.

Bill is gay and he and his boy friend are heading for Brokeback Mountain.

Steve is Bi and he and his transgender "friend" Charlese are going to a sex shop.

What is the best answer:

1. Each person openly shares what he is doing. For example Steve admits he likes being pegged.

2. Joe and Ted can, Steve too cuz all guys love talking about shemales, but not Bill. He should skip part of what he is really up to which is having unbiblical butt sex with another dude. 

3. None of them can because doing so would indicate their sexuality but they all secretly wanna bang Charlese.

Supposedly scouts were already asking questions to that end.