[NFL] Michael Sam, SEC co-defensive player of the year and All American, comes out as gay before NFL Draft

Covar

Covar

Bubble181 said:
Oh sure, blame it on the Europeans; I'm sure we're oh so much worse than Americans as regards to bigotry in sports (it's also silly to generalize - Italy is completely different than France, for example, in this regard). I'm just going to ignore that ad hominem as it serves no purpose whatsoever.

Sure, people of color are accepted in some sports. Claiming that "just being good at what you do" is enough to break down entry barriers is beyond ridiculous. The fact that this is the first ever man to come out as gay before being drafted or while in the NFL alone should tell you something. People of color have had to fight their way into being accepted tooth and nail. Tiger Woods was the first ever black person to break through to the top of golfing. The number of black top tennis players is still incredibly slim (the Venus sisters notwithstanding). There are plenty of other sports where people of color are still completely absent - most notably most of the more "elite" sports and more "local" sports - polo, golf, tennis, darts, F1, swimming all equastrian sports, on one hand; darts, petanque, cyclocross, track racing, cycling, etc on the other other.
And that's looking at black people. They're more accepted in the "poorer" sports and the "more American" sports because, for A, they don't need much in the way of facilities and are more open to the poor (duh); for the other because quite literally every major American sports has "bigger is better" writen all over it (Football, hockey, basketball - less true for baseball), and specific ethnicities tend to be heavier/bigger built.
Anyway - you tell me how accepting your sports are, based just on performance...How many arabs are currently at the top in any of those sports? Oh, right, sorry, those ethnicities are still A-OK to discriminate against, because they're the current scape goats.
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Remember when an NFL team refused to play because of how terribly the crowd was being? Me neither.

You seem to be under the impression that there should be a magic switch that's flipped. It's a catalyst. You seem to want to belittle the whole situation because it's not immediately accepted.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Covar said:
You seem to be under the impression that there should be a magic switch that's flipped. It's a catalyst. You seem to want to belittle the whole situation because it's not immediately accepted.
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And you seem intent on strawmanning me to death. I was saying the exact opposite. Thinking racism and discrimination will just "not matter" because the player's good is ridiculous, short-sighted, and denies the struggle thousands have had to go through to try and achieve anything despite their race, overcoming incredible barriers. Saying "oh, race and sexuality don't matter if you're good" is the dismissive and belittling attitude, not mine.
 
Covar

Covar

jwhouk said:
Does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar count?
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I think he's the greatest, but my dad says he doesn't work hard enough on defense.

And he says that lots of times, he doesn't even run down court. And that he doesn't really try... except during the playoffs
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

What about Enes Kanter? Do Turkish people count as arab?

Regardless, the Bills had an arab as third string qb a few years back and there was no blowback from it. If there was no reason to be worried about signing an arab to such an unimportant position, do you really think there would be an issue with signing one thats a star?
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

Covar said:
I think he's the greatest, but my dad says he doesn't work hard enough on defense.

And he says that lots of times, he doesn't even run down court. And that he doesn't really try... except during the playoffs
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The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.[DOUBLEPOST=1392308314,1392307998][/DOUBLEPOST]
jwhouk said:
Does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar count?
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He caught so much crap when he changed his name...
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

Bottom line: This is the 21st Century. If the kid can play defense, and he can help a team win games - and, hopefully, a Super Bowl - then you draft him.

Any "baggage" he has can't be worse than a certain former QB of the Broncos and Jets. (And yes, this comes from a Christian who admires Mr. Tebow.)
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

Fisher seems to be a good coach to handle the media BS that is sure to come. And he should be respected enough for there to be no locker room drama. Beside just picking on a rookie.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
And when he heard? He kissed his boyfriend. Not only did ESPN air it and not go all "EWWW!" but they never mentioned it at all.
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

But if he wants to be successful in the NFL, he shouldn't want a media circus. I know some is inevitable, but I think welcoming more is a mistake.
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

Unfortunately he was cut, but it sounds like the Rams want him on the practice squad if no one picks him up. I'd like the Bills to take him though. I still think he's going to be a capable player.
 
Tress

Tress

Being cut isn't necessarily the end for him. He showed some promise. Maybe some practice and coaching will raise his performance level to NFL-levels after a year or two.
 
drifter

drifter

From what I read, Sam was battling some other guy for the final DE position (can't remember his name, but it's the guy with the face tattoo), and face tat guy has just been an absolute beast in the preseason.

Edit

Ethan Westbrooks, rated number one 4-3 DE for the preseason by PFF.
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

Yeah St Louis is stacked at D-line more than any other team. Also, any team that claimed Sam off of waivers would be required to keep him the entire year I believe which isn't a risk you do with a player like him.
 
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