Someday, what former University of Missouri football star Michael Sam did Sunday night won’t be news. But until that day comes, what the National Football League hopeful did in announcing that he is gay is both pioneering and courageous.
Sam’s timing could hurt his future as a professional football player. While he was a star at Missouri ”“ he was the co-Defensive Player of the Year in the dominant Southeastern Conference ”“ his relative lack of size ”“ 6-foot-2 ”“ at the defensive end position make him just a middle-rounds NFL draft prospect in the minds of some draft analysts.
Sam could have waited until after the NFL Draft in May to announce that he is gay, making sure that his sexual orientation didn’t affect his draft status. But Sam didn’t wait for when it was convenient. In fact, his college teammates found out last August that he was gay, before the season even started. Yet that didn’t stop Sam’s award-winning season or a 12-win season by the Tigers that ended with a Top-10 ranking.
When NBA player Jason Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated article last April, it was thought that Collins would be the first current athlete in a major American sport to do so. But Collins hasn’t played in an NBA game since.
Collins was courageous in his announcement, knowing that he might not play in the league again. It remains to be seen if he’s played his last NBA game. His age and role on the court have been factors in his unemployment; his sexual orientation having an affect can be debated.
Collins had already made a career before his announcement. Sam is hoping to begin his. And he’s hoping to start a career in one of the supposedly manliest places one can imagine: an NFL locker room.
So far, both the league and some of Sam’s possible future peers have said the right things. The NFL released a statement on Sunday night saying, “We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL.”
Current NFL players took to Twitter to either show support for Sam or say simply that they don’t care what his sexual orientation is.
But what comes from the football community in the coming days, weeks and months may not be as positive.
The NFL has a policy of teams not being able to discriminate against players ”“ including draft prospects ”“ based on sexual orientation. Prospective teams are not allowed to ask those types of questions in pre-draft interviews. But questions just as personal and irrelevant have been asked before. Teams may try to find a way to dig a little into Sam’s personal life.
Sam, as well as NFL fans and curious folks in general, won’t know until May 8 at the earliest ”“ the first night of the NFL Draft ”“ whether he has a future in the professional league. Even if he gets passed up in the seven-round draft, Sam could be signed by a team as an undrafted free agent. Teams, however, could pass on him completely to avoid dealing with a potential media circus.
Sam is no different than the millions of other men and women, boys and girls that come out with his or her sexual orientation, but given his celebrity, and career choice, he should still be commended. It is courageous of him to look in the face of the powerful ”“ and “manly” ”“ NFL and announce that he is gay.
It is up to one of 32 teams to choose Sam’s future as a professional football player; that much is out of his hands. But Sam came out on his own terms, albeit at a potentially risky time. That, however, is a risk worth taking for a young man who is now a pioneer, and hopefully in the near future, a professional athlete in the “manliest” of sports.
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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Writer Wil Kramlich on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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