[Stardust]

Does anyone have an issue with Michael Sam playing for the Steelers next year? I really don't have an issue with it.

[Jarons]

^Would you have an issue with him playing with the Bengals?

[Stardust]

Let's not go changing the subject. You are always trying to create controversy and never want to discuss the issue at hand.

So, back to my point. I have no issue at all with Michael Sam, his sexuality or any belief that he has, thus I have no issues at all with him playing for the Steelers. I think that any media blitz that is presented to the Steelers they will handle professionally and appropriately.

[Jarons]

I wasn't trying to change the subject. Obviously, sometimes it hard to detect sarcasm in reading. Knowing how you feel about the Steelers I thought maybe that you were taking a shot at the Steelers. That is why I asked you about playing for the Bengals.
To answer your question I really don't care if he is gay, I just don't want the media forcing that issue down our throats and making him a super hero and role model (no athletes should be role models. That's is parents and older siblings jobs to be role models). What he does away from the field is none of my business unless if it directly affects my family.
Why do you keep bringing up the Steelers in the thread? Is there talk about the Steelers drafting him?

[Stardust]

^ I hear that they are trading up in the draft

[Jarons]

^To get Sam?
On a side note, when I heard that Sam came out of the closet, the first thing I thought was the Steelers were going to draft him due to Rooney's relationship with Obama.

[Spirit100]

Ridiculousness Sam, good luck with that. It's about your football value, not your sexual orientation value.

Prepare yourselves for, I'm Jebediah and I love animals. Or I'm Todd and I'm a lover of obese women from Cyprus. No offense to the names Jebediah or Todd nicker:.

Need a voice, start a blog, or a sports forum :big grin: !

[RunItUpTheGut]

Quite personally I think he would fit right in at the Steelers.
Personality, etc.

[sstack]

I am so sick of the gay people wanting to go to the press and trying to make a big deal out of it. Your gay, who cares. Go live your life, be happy and stop trying to act like the world should stop for you. I work in a field in which a fair amount of gay men and women work. It is know they are gay, but they work and live their life like rest of us; great people and everybody likes and gets along with them. they do not go around every day proclaiming they are gay and wanting attention or to be treated special. I just get so sick of the press wanting to make such a big deal of ones sexuality. My dad's generation is not very accepting of the gay life style, but my generation is pretty accepting IMO and my children's is very accepting. With so many being open about it now days, you get to know coworkers or neighbors who are gay and realize the are people just like us except for their sexual preference. Time to get over making such a big deal over it.
Sam plays football, you are on his team and work together, you might not have enough in common to hang out after work but there are straight guys that you wouldn't want to hang out with either.

[judgementday]

^I agree with some of what you said. What I don't understand in this instance and with Jason Collins is why do you need to announce it? By living your life the way you want people will find out one way or another so why the need to make a huge announcement about it?

[geauxtigers75]

I have no problem with gay people and I am completely fine with Sam playing for my team, if they were to draft them. But, the thing NFL teams might be thinking is, if Sam doesn't perform up to standards and is cut because of performance, will it be twisted by the media that he was cut for being gay? It would be a huge PR nightmare, and I believe that is very unfair to Sam as he will be judged more by his sexual orientation than his ability as a football player. It will be interesting to see how the teams react.

[Stardust]

Quite personally I think he would fit right in at the Steelers.
Personality, etc.

A person who gets it

[Stardust]

I am so sick of the gay people wanting to go to the press and trying to make a big deal out of it. Your gay, who cares. Go live your life, be happy and stop trying to act like the world should stop for you. I work in a field in which a fair amount of gay men and women work. It is know they are gay, but they work and live their life like rest of us; great people and everybody likes and gets along with them. they do not go around every day proclaiming they are gay and wanting attention or to be treated special. I just get so sick of the press wanting to make such a big deal of ones sexuality. My dad's generation is not very accepting of the gay life style, but my generation is pretty accepting IMO and my children's is very accepting. With so many being open about it now days, you get to know coworkers or neighbors who are gay and realize the are people just like us except for their sexual preference. Time to get over making such a big deal over it.
Sam plays football, you are on his team and work together, you might not have enough in common to hang out after work but there are straight guys that you wouldn't want to hang out with either.

^I agree with some of what you said. What I don't understand in this instance and with Jason Collins is why do you need to announce it? By living your life the way you want people will find out one way or another so why the need to make a huge announcement about it?

You guys are right - BUT - I truly do not believe that this was Sam trying to make a "political platform" about it. Look, they guy came out and beat the media. Even so, the Media has made it the NUMBER ONE STORY! You can bet you that the media is EXTREMELY disappointed that they did not get to make the the SHOCKER story of him getting drafted and then making the "HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT". The media wanted to make this a Ringling Brothers Circus event, and they still will, but the luster of "Shock Factor" has been spoiled for them.

It was said that the breaking story was going to be published during the combines, thus the ignorant media couldn't even wait to let Sam get drafted first to get the most value out of this story. Thus, Sam "Came out of the Closet" before the media could spin the story for pure shock value.

So, regardless of what his sexual orientation is, he did do the right thing of getting ahead of this before the combine. Let's face it, it will be "A" story at the combine, but think about what this would have been had it happened during the combine or the draft? Smart move making the announcement ahead of time.

We can all say, "so what", or "who cares what you do behind closed doors", but you all know that is NOT WHAT THE MEDIA THINKS!!!

[sstack]

You guys are right - BUT - I truly do not believe that this was Sam trying to make a "political platform" about it. Look, they guy came out and beat the media. Even so, the Media has made it the NUMBER ONE STORY! You can bet you that the media is EXTREMELY disappointed that they did not get to make the the SHOCKER story of him getting drafted and then making the "HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT". The media wanted to make this a Ringling Brothers Circus event, and they still will, but the luster of "Shock Factor" has been spoiled for them.

It was said that the breaking story was going to be published during the combines, thus the ignorant media couldn't even wait to let Sam get drafted first to get the most value out of this story. Thus, Sam "Came out of the Closet" before the media could spin the story for pure shock value.

So, regardless of what his sexual orientation is, he did do the right thing of getting ahead of this before the combine. Let's face it, it will be "A" story at the combine, but think about what this would have been had it happened during the combine or the draft? Smart move making the announcement ahead of time.

We can all say, "so what", or "who cares what you do behind closed doors", but you all know that is NOT WHAT THE MEDIA THINKS!!!

You hit the nail on the head.

[judgementday]

You guys are right - BUT - I truly do not believe that this was Sam trying to make a "political platform" about it. Look, they guy came out and beat the media. Even so, the Media has made it the NUMBER ONE STORY! You can bet you that the media is EXTREMELY disappointed that they did not get to make the the SHOCKER story of him getting drafted and then making the "HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT". The media wanted to make this a Ringling Brothers Circus event, and they still will, but the luster of "Shock Factor" has been spoiled for them.

It was said that the breaking story was going to be published during the combines, thus the ignorant media couldn't even wait to let Sam get drafted first to get the most value out of this story. Thus, Sam "Came out of the Closet" before the media could spin the story for pure shock value.

So, regardless of what his sexual orientation is, he did do the right thing of getting ahead of this before the combine. Let's face it, it will be "A" story at the combine, but think about what this would have been had it happened during the combine or the draft? Smart move making the announcement ahead of time.

We can all say, "so what", or "who cares what you do behind closed doors", but you all know that is NOT WHAT THE MEDIA THINKS!!!

You probably are right but if he wasn't trying to be on some sort of platform then why didn't he come out during college? or after high school before going to college?

[Stardust]

^ A couple of scenarios. It appears it was not a surprise in college. It was addressed and was known. I don't know how well it was publicized in the local media, but you know as well as I do that if all the players knew, then the media knew. There is NO WAY that is stays a secret in today's social media environment. Secondly, he was considered a student, and dating back to High School - A Minor. He's now a Man (no jokes about that guys). It is appropriate to make the announcement now as a Professional Adult. It technically is everyone's business now. When he was a student, it was NOT anyone's business and his status as a minor could not legally be discussed by outsiders.

[nky]

will he even be drafted?

[Ballers]

I do not believe he will be drafted.
I agree with geauxtigers.
It's a big risk, if he doesn't perform up to par and is cut.. The media will have a field day on whichever team he gets drafted by.
And as far as I know Jason Collins was a free agent when he came out and I'm pretty sure hes currently not on a team.
Maybe in the D league?
When these athletes do this, they might as well kiss their big paycheck goodbye.

[Ballers]

On a side note - rumor has it the Ravens are going to burn their first pick on him.

[Westside]

In all seriousness will they let him shower with the rest of the team? I bet if they do a lot of his teammates will be converting to soap on a rope.

[Stardust]

will he even be drafted?

I do not believe he will be drafted.
I agree with geauxtigers.
It's a big risk, if he doesn't perform up to par and is cut.. The media will have a field day on whichever team he gets drafted by.
And as far as I know Jason Collins was a free agent when he came out and I'm pretty sure hes currently not on a team.
Maybe in the D league?
When these athletes do this, they might as well kiss their big paycheck goodbye.

Wow,great question. I think it is going to be difficult to NOT draft the SEC Defensive Player of the year. In a sport where men love to tackle men, he proved he was the BEST! How could you not want the best grabber of other men on your team?

[zaga_fan]

No way he DOESN'T get drafted.

However, I think that making a big deal of this before the draft was stupid.
I believe I read that he was a mid-second round talent.
If he drops to a later round all we'll hear from the bleeding-heart liberals is that he dropped because NFL teams are homophobic.

I think it would be a good PR move for a team like the Dolphins to pick him up.

[Stardust]

^ All week I have heard on Mike & Mike, the draft guys that they have had on has had him as high as a 4th, as low a 6th rounder, but DEFINITELY a draft pick

[RunItUpTheGut]

It would be overwhelmingly hilarious if nobody picked him.
After being SEC defensive player of the year, and not being drafted anywhere?!?!
It would be a clear message that the NFL would like to stand for a don't ask, don't tell policy nicker:

I would prolly have to take a day off work because I would still be laughing 24 hrs later.


Personally, I don't care if you like to be the catcher in some mans field of dreams, but there is no way in hell I would draft him. Pure nightmare of a headache. Unless your the steelers, and then, well, he would fit in.

[sstack]

In all seriousness will they let him shower with the rest of the team? I bet if they do a lot of his teammates will be converting to soap on a rope.

You do bring up a good question and one that my dad asked me last night. What if a player on his team does have a problem with him being in shower room at the same time? What steps does team take? It can bring up a lot of problems for a team.

I received my SI magazine today and wouldn't you know who is on the cover; a 4th to 6th round projected draft pick! Let's put someone on the cover who deserves it!

[Westside]

You do bring up a good question and one that my dad asked me last night. What if a player on his team does have a problem with him being in shower room at the same time? What steps does team take? It can bring up a lot of problems for a team.

I received my SI magazine today and wouldn't you know who is on the cover; a 4th to 6th round projected draft pick! Let's put someone on the cover who deserves it!

It makes me sick he is getting all this attention. I watch sports center the day after he came out and they dedicated the first 30 minutes to this. Oh, and of course Michelle Obama had to tweet what an inspiration he was to all of America. Well not me. And Michelle my hero's wear combat boots and protect my freedom. Why not tweet about the 21 year-old from Johnson County Kentucky who lost his life this week in Afghanistan?

[#1 Blackcat Fan]

[quote=Westside]It makes me sick he is getting all this attention. I watch sports center the day after he came out and they dedicated the first 30 minutes to this. Oh, and of course Michelle Obama had to tweet what an inspiration he was to all of America. Well not me. And Michelle my hero's wear combat boots and protect my freedom. Why not tweet about the 21 year-old from Johnson County Kentucky who lost his life this week in Afghanistan?[/QUOTE]

Amen to that brother. Prayers to his family, friends, and community.

I seen this story on WYMT. He was a great young man. This man should be a role model, not professional athletes.

[Ballers]

It would be hard to not draft him...
But this could be a black eye for any NFL team if they handle it wrong.
Not to mention you have a lot of thugs in the NFL that I'm sure will use slang on the field towards him.

[insideinfo]

I don't care what the politician in Washington,Hollywood or the bleeding heart liberal media says. It ain't right and I would not want him on my team.

[RunItUpTheGut]

I have to pause for a minute and cry when I see the liberal use of the word "hero" as someone who decides to make money by telling the world there gay.

That doesn't take a hero, it takes a mentally ill human being that is being edged on to do it by hollyweird. The guy needs help. Its as simple as that.

Many of our lovely liberals in the world want to scream science at us when it comes to religion, global warming, etc, but when simple anatomy tells you that don't go there then nothing is said.