re: Mizzou DE Michael Sam comes out

Is Sam facing what someone 20 or 30 years ago might of faced in the NFL? That's my point, and an NFL player coming out 20 years ago would've been met with a much different world. Times have changed and it's not a huge deal anymore to come out. That's why the final male barriers(Sports and Military) are coming down. It's safe to come out now, that's my point. It's much different being showered with love rather than most of the population throwing stones your way.

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Is Sam facing what someone 20 or 30 years ago might of faced in the NFL? That's my point, and an NFL player coming out 20 years ago would've been met with a much different world. Times have changed and it's not a huge deal anymore to come out. That's why the final male barriers(Sports and Military) are coming down. It's safe to come out now, that's my point. It's much different being showered with love rather than most of the population throwing stones your way.

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If true, why's he the first?

What you are saying is not consistent with what is actually true. Why hasn't someone else come out and been 'showered with love'? Why have gay men in the NFL continued to hide?

Step back for a minute and stop thinking about how this affects Michael Sam. Think about how it affects other gay men in the NFL, and future gay players. Michael Sam coming out will make a real difference to them, because if they want to come out, they don't have to deal with being first. I agree, it's not as bad coming out now as it would have been 20 years ago, but I bet most gay men don't want all the media coverage over something that shouldn't even be a big deal. With Michael Sam being first, they won't have to deal with it.

And as much as you say it's 'safe', you still have to deal with the fact that no one else has done it. Why not?

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I hope he does not get drafted by Green Bay.

Though my preferred scenario is he ends up undrafted and unsigned by any team before the start of the season.

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I don't get it. Why not?

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What team will want to deal with this media circus and distraction? Even Seattle and San Francisco, two cities with major gay populations, will not want this distraction in their locker room/organization.

I bet every NFL team is hoping and praying that some other NFL team drafts him, and not them. It is going to be a giant game of chicken.

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I get that. I'm asking why forums user 7Dollarbill hopes that Michael Sam won't get drafted. Sounds personal.

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If true, why's he the first?

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The fact that coming out IS STILL very difficult does not mean it's the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago. Coming out in the NFL today would certainly mean alienating many teammates, potentially receiving cruel and abusive hazing or pranks, etc. 30 years ago, it would have been much worse. He would have been an utter pariah.

It IS a different time today. That doesn't make mean it's all better. We still have very disturbing examples of racism today, but that doesn't mean black people are being beaten at lunch counters on a regular basis like 50 years ago.

I know it's not like coming out 20 years ago. I'm not trying to say it's just as bad.

I'm arguing against the people who are downplaying this like Michael Sam didn't do something noteworthy. I think he did, and my evidence for that is that no one else has done it yet. For the people saying it's not noteworthy, my question will always be, "Why was he the first?"

I don't think it's because the other gay men in the NFL are having such a great time keeping their lives a complete secret from their teammates and organizations. It's because they fear the consequences of coming out.

Michael Sam just made it easier for every other gay man in the NFL to be open about their personal lives if they want to be.

The next couple of guys that come out will get some media coverage, and then the next will just be a little news blip, until finally it's no longer newsworthy to be gay in the NFL, which is the way it should be. But we don't ever get to that point unless someone is First.

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That's reserved for our troops.

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Digging ditches in the sandbox doesn't make you a hero either.


Judge each person individually.

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Digging ditches in the sandbox doesn't make you a hero either.


Judge each person individually.

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So the people fight for our country are not heroes?

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homosexuals don't care. they'll make it your business

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Exactly!

I'm still very amazed that we "have" to accept this sinful lifestyle or be called homophobe or worse.

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You don't "have" (innovative use of quotation marks, e.e. Cummings) to accept them, just like intelligent people don't "have" to tolerate your bigoted bullshite.

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Exactly. Remove God from the equation and this is what you get. Everyone praising gay people and getting pissed because we don't agree. They can throw all this stuff in our faces, but we aren't supposed to voice our beliefs. These people are just as bigoted and just as intolerable as the ones who bash gay people.

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