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Michael Sam (nttawwt)

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NFBuck

NFBuck

Total Coverage.
    • Mizzou DE and reigning SEC Defensive POY, Michael Sam, has come out as gay. Positioning himself to be the NFL's first active openly gay player.

    Coaches at the University of Missouri divided players into small groups at a preseason football practice last year for a team-building exercise. One by one, players were asked to talk about themselves — where they grew up, why they chose Missouri and what others might not know about them.

    As Michael Sam, a defensive lineman, began to speak, he balled up a piece of paper in his hands. “I’m gay,” he said. With that, Mr. Sam set himself on a path to become the first publicly gay player in the National Football League.
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    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/s...r-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?_r=0

    Will be interesting to see how this affects his draft prospects...
     
    Reaction from NFL executives and coaches: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20140209/michael-sam-draft-stock/

    The news that former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam is gay holds significant social and cultural ramifications. But from a purely football perspective, his decision to come out prior to May's NFL draft will make his path to the league daunting, eight NFL executives and coaches told SI.com.

    In blunt terms, they project a significant drop in Sam's draft stock, a publicity circus and an NFL locker room culture not prepared to deal with an openly gay player. Sam, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, was projected as a mid- to late-round draft pick prior to his announcement.

    While none of the executives overtly condemned Sam's decision, their opinions illuminated an NFL culture in which an openly gay player -- from the draft room to the locker room -- faces long odds and a lonely path.
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    Upvote 0
    Some of his SEC/AA honors seem to be over-rated anyway. 9 of his 11 or 12 sacks came against Ark St, Vandy, and imploding Florida.
    Guy was a ghost against Auburn too.
    Throw in the fact that he's between ideal position sizes... I don't think he's going in the first 2 rounds regardless of whatever else is out there.
    On one hand it'd be nice if these things had no impact... on the other, NFL employers aren't very keen to hire somebody whose a media magnet/distraction. Regardless of what the reason for that attention is.
    It's kind of like the claims that Skip Bayless and ESPN played a significant role in destroying any chances for Tebow. Teams may have been willing to give him a punt as a backup -- but with the ESPN hype machine, they can't even hire him as a backup w/o the media creating their own controversy and going on about it for all eternity.
     
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    ESPiN pushing an agenda on us all again.

    Whatever this guy is in the bedroom, and we really don't need to know, he is a tweener in the NFL unless he finds the right situation. He isn't an athletic freak like Clowney and he isn't a 'for-sure' hand down DE in the NFL in a 4-3 either.
     
    Upvote 0
    kujirakira said:
    Some of his SEC/AA honors seem to be over-rated anyway. 9 of his 11 or 12 sacks came against Ark St, Vandy, and imploding Florida.
    Guy was a ghost against Auburn too.
    Throw in the fact that he's between ideal position sizes... I don't think he's going in the first 2 rounds regardless of whatever else is out there.
    On one hand it'd be nice if these things had no impact... on the other, NFL employers aren't very keen to hire somebody whose a media magnet/distraction. Regardless of what the reason for that attention is.
    It's kind of like the claims that Skip Bayless and ESPN played a significant role in destroying any chances for Tebow. Teams may have been willing to give him a punt as a backup -- but with the ESPN hype machine, they can't even hire him as a backup w/o the media creating their own controversy and going on about it for all eternity.
    Click to expand...
    Where he is taken in the draft will be very interesting. I don't think anyone had him pegged as a first or second rounder, but rather as a third or fourth rounder. There's a big difference between not being taken in the first several rounds because of perceived "baggage issues" and not being taken at all.
     
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    He's a high motor guy that can play 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB; with the emphasis on pass rushers I don't see a chance that he's not off the board after Round 4 and I'll predict in the third he's gone.

    This won't make much of a difference in terms of his grade; maybe a team or two passes on him because of this, but there are plenty of teams already with gay(s) on it, if not all the teams. He's open about it. If he sacks the QB, that's all they will care about and me as well.

    The 'older' media is playing this up; for most fans, this is nothing new and hopefully this doesn't become "the" story until the draft because 3 months of this would be torture. He deserves props for being a leader, and I respect him for that, but 10 seconds after it's all is normal again for me.
     
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