Michael Sam wants to be a professional football player in the National football League. And he should be. Ethically, morally, legally, he should be permitted to put on a uniform and play. He has earned the right. This is a story of the ethics of the heart.
This former standout player from Missouri who was an All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year should probably be a high round draft pick. Indeed, he would pretty much be a lock to be a high-rounder, had he not expressed the following to Chris Connelly of ESPN’s Show, Outside The Lines on February 9, 2014:
“I came to tell the world that I’m an openly, proud gay man.”
OK, there you have it. That is the sentence that is rallying the troops on both sides of an issue; there is the sentence that is cutting through every stereotypical attitude you might imagine.
I shrug my shoulders.
In a sport that has welcomed back dog-killers to its ranks and possibly tolerated human-killers; in a sport that has routinely tolerated players getting arrested for speeding while they were DUI or DWI, committing larceny and grand larceny, for buying drugs of all types, for walking around with concealed weapons, for awarding bounties for illegal hits, for taking pay-offs and bribes and on and on, a kid who has admitted he’s gay becomes the cause célèbre.
Breaking a Barrier? Gimme a Break.
Anyone in America who believes that Michael Sam is the first gay player to have ever played the game of football has got to be three levels below naïve; the sub-basements of naïve. The difference is that he is open about who he is, and that makes some people uncomfortable.
But what is all of this really about? Is this about testosterone? Is this about the culture of the locker room? Or is it about the human heart?
This has nothing to do with testosterone. Yes, there are men who are complete jerks (I have known several), but there are many more, multiples more who are decent, kind and compassionate human beings. I believe that most men do not care one iota what Michael Sam does in the bedroom if he can help the crappy defense of their team improve.
Is it the culture of the locker room? Please. Stop.
The culture of the locker room is whatever it is coached to be. Michael Sam will be kidded and he will be made to do the idiotic things that define the rites of rookie passage. Nevertheless, as Richie Incognito learned this past year with Jonathan Martin, Michael Sam has no right to be the subject of bullying; no more than if he were the first Asian player, Black player, Jewish player, Muslim player or female player – and trust me; that will happen too.
Idiots Galore
For awhile, there will be idiots, both male and female, who will mount their idiotic protests. That’s what idiots do. We need to leave them to their idiot ways.
Michael Sam should be a high round pick, but there’s the possibility that he will be passed by until the later rounds. It will say a lot about a lot of things if that happens.
Or it could be that the scouts and coaches and team management who pick him at the draft will choose him where a straight player having his talents should have been picked. And if Sam is able to improve that defense, the idiots will quickly vanish into the night.
We are not responsible for legislating the feelings that reside in hearts of others; we can only look into our own hearts. My heart says, “Give the kid a chance.”
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