If you think the NFL isn't homophobic,read this column by a veteran pro football sport's columnist:

[Are_grits_groceries]

First, let's get this out of the way: When it comes to the Michael Sam story, well, we in the media partially screwed up.

It is true that we turned Sam into a nonstop melodrama. The story was unprecedented and historic and deserved a massive amount of attention, but some in the media took it too far.

It's all too easy to blame ESPN, but the larger truth is that the Sam story was a collision of storm fronts. Many in the media had a sincere desire to see progress in one of the last bastions of homophobia: professional sports.

That factor, partnered with the massive, coagulating, blob-ified social media, led to Sam becoming a spectacle. This was no fault of Sam's. This was on us.

This was also partly a sign of modern-day America. This story was bound to leapfrog sports and land on Maddow and Meet the Press. That intensified the overcoverage, the way heat creates a larger hurricane.

So the media deserves part of the blame for Sam not playing in the NFL now. We made him a marked man. We Tebow-ed him. Each time Sam went to the field, there was a media marching band in pursuit.

But let's also make this clear: Sam not being signed with a team isn't solely because of the media. Or even mostly. Him not being signed is because of fear, shameful excuse-making and old-fashioned bigotry.
<snip>
More:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2183720-michael-sam-not-being-signed-on-the-media-excuse-making-and-homophobia

'Distraction' is the new code word. As Freeman points out, his not being signed was way out of the ordinary.
Now the line is that Jerry Jones will sign him because he has great jersey sales. MEH! I have never heard such drivel and degrading remarks before. He deserves a chance on a roster.

[Nye Bevan]

1. I know very little about football. Does this guy play so well that he would have been signed up

right away, no question, had he not been gay?

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. The guy was co-Defensive Player of the Year for the SEC last year.

That's a pretty big and well-respected division in the NCAA. Any other year and gender, Sam would have gone 3rd round at worst (he went 7th/last round) and been signed to a team given the fact he had 3 sacks and many tackles in the preseason.

[The2ndWheel]

11. Gino Torreta won the Heisman and was drafted in the 7th round

He was the starting QB of the Miami Hurricanes, at a time when that meant something. He played a few years in the NFL, but was never more than a backup, at a position where you're either on the field or on the bench for the entire game.

As was mentioned somewhere, Tim Tebow is another example. God fearing Christian. All-American boy. Heisman trophy winner. Good looking straight guy. National championship winning QB of the Florida Gators, when that also meant something. 1st round pick, even had a decent regular season in the NFL. Helped lead the Broncos to a win in the playoffs. He's not very good though.

With Sam, from the day he came out, you knew it would get to this point. Is he on a team because he's gay, or because he can play? Is he not on a team because he's gay, or because he can't play? If you cut him or don't sign him, is it because you're homophobic, or because he can't play? If you do sign him, is it because you don't want to be seen as homophobic, or because he can play? His sexual orientation is such a big part of this now that you don't know. It's not supposed to be that way, but it is that way.

[dsc]

3. Everyone who did as well as he did or better, except for him

had gotten signed to a practice squad at least before he finally does today. Only one other didn't make his team's regular squad.

[Are_grits_groceries]

4. I think he would have been signed to a 53 man roster.

He is a player who would probably not play every down. He would go in and out depending on the game. He would be very good as a change of pace. This is not unusual. It may turn out that he can't be effective, but I believe anybody else would have been given a much better place to play.

Consider this. One team dropped him 6 places down their draft board when they heard he was gay.

I am not advocating that he just be given a spot for the hell of it because he's gay. I am saying that he deserves a fair chance and it's been uphill all the way. A former player who had been a general manager said he should have been picked up by another team.

[pipi_k]

5. In answer to your question...

Here's a white, presumably non-gay player who won the Heismann trophy in 2012 and numerous other awards.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Manziel


Many people assumed he would be one of the top 10 draft picks this year, if not even top 5.

He lasted till round 22, whereupon he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, who are starting out this season #30 out of 32 teams as far as power ranking goes. So they're not a top team. PLUS they're not even starting Manziel in the season opener, choosing to go with Brian Hoyer, who was with the Patriots for a bit as a backup QB.

Add to that...some teams, most notably, the Patriots, like to have guys who can play more than one position. Bill Belichick is famous for that. So you might see a guy who is outstanding in one area of play get passed over for another guy who may not be outstanding in one area, but show enough potential to play multiple spots and become really good with proper development.

Granted, I don't know a stupendous amount about football, but I do know that it's hardly ever only what you see on the surface.


PS...adding here that often teams choose not to take chances with players who might, through no fault of their own, end up dragging media whores along with them like toilet paper on the bottoms of their shoes. Like poor Tim Tebow, who eventually became a media circus until he was picked up by the Patriots, whereupon the coach, in classic Belichickian fashion, shut it down. Teams don't want media circuses.

[Dreamer Tatum]

6. The NFL has 22 rounds? Oy. nt

[pipi_k]

10. My mistake

what I really meant was he lasted till PICK #22.

[Dreamer Tatum]

7. An honest person can answer that right away.

Just look and see who was drafted around the same spot and determine their current status.

I am amused by the people howling for this kid to be enshrined in Canton, but who think Tim Tebow, a better
college player by orders of magnitude, should go fuck himself.

[Lurker Deluxe]

12. But but ....

Tebow sucks.

He was given 11 starts in Denver in 2011 and only won 7 of them. And he was destroyed by New England in January at Foxborough .... a place that everyone knows the Pats never win ... 'specially in January.

Boggles one's mind that people do not realize what a competitive league the NFL is. Sam is small for DE, slow for LB, and not very versatile in where he can play on the field in defense schemes and does not have the speed to cover kick/punt returns. His showing at the Combine hurt way worse than anything else ... but a mess of reporters following him around and commenting on his showering habits damn sure does not help.

Let the BS die down, and if he can bulk up a bit or pick up a tenth or two, he will play.

[Dreamer Tatum]

13. Think of the QBs that sucked ass in their first couple of years

and then went on to be solid, if not very good. But no one has a even a half second to consider how
Tebow got royally shafted.

"Oh," but the Tebow haters said, " he GOT chances and was FULLY VETTED by
PROFESSIONAL scouts and personnel managers. I trust that they know how worthless this fundy virgin
scumbag is as a football player."

But somehow when it comes to Sam, everyone's an expert, and the NFL is populated by bigoted dunces
who don't know talent when they see it.

Want to know who else got their ass kicked by the Patriots pretty regularly until he got much, much better?
Yup - Peyton Manning.

[Boom Sound 416]

8. If distraction is the new code word.

How does it relate to Tim Tebow?

[grattsl]

9. I'm pulling for Sam, but he isn't a day 1 star, he's a project.

For an ideal Defensive End he is slightly small, and not as quick as most others at that position. 6'2" and 260lbs may not seem small but that is the reality of the a DE, most starters are 6'3" or taller and weigh 275ish. If a player is smaller in that position they tend to be extremely fast. Sam is quick, but does not have elite speed. He can still bulk up some. The NFL likes to measure players with stopwatches, bench presses, and high jumps. He is not quite what the scouts want to see at one of the most demanding positions in the game.

He wasn't considered a blue chip prospect at any point of his career. He did not go to a college football power house. His school joined the S.E.C. after he was already on the team. He did win S.E.C. defensive player of the year as a 5th year senior, mainly through his hustle, work ethic, and football IQ. I don't believe he was ever going to go much higher than he did, even if he had not come out. The NFL doesn't care about college awards. In 2006 the Heisman trophy winner (best player in college) was Troy Smith, who wasn't drafted until the 5th round. Now the NFL is littered with failed blue chippers, and has plenty of late round picks and undrafted players go on to be stars (Tom Brady was a 6th rounder.)

The Cowboys were far and away the weakest defensive team last year, and from a pure football perspective, it would be hard to find a better landing spot. He will have to learn the schemes, earn the trust of the coaching staff, and yet again prove his worth, but he has done it before. Sam is an intelligent player, he has put up good game film, and the reality is in Dallas, he is one injury away from a jersey. It might take time for him to land in the right spot, but that is true for many players. Cleveland's starting QB (Hoyer) was undrafted, and was on his 5th team before he truly got a chance to show his worth.

Ultimately I think Sam will be a NFL player. He will contribute, possibly for a long time. If he is never a star on the feild it doesn't make him a failure. He seems to be the type of person to get the most out of his opportunities. He seems motivated and driven, and often times that is the biggest key to success on the field. Like I said, I'm pulling for Sam.