Thread: Michael Sam signs with Montreal Alouettes of CFL

Fringe players need to be able to play special teams. Is he fast enough to do that?

pretty funny stuff in this thread... Dude wasn't cut because he was gay. In the last google poll, 1 in 20 American men are gay... how many players in the NFL? Law of averages would state there are quite a few.

How many openly gay players are there?

Originally Posted by DenBronx

Surrounded by talent and the Rams couldn't even sign him to the practice squad to be groomed?

Puh-leeze

If you are loaded with talent at a position, and it's young talent, why would you stuff your practice squad with guys at that same position? What?

Originally Posted by Northman

JFC King. Do you really believe he got jobbed because he was gay? Really? Come on man. You are so much smarter than this conspiracy bullshit. If teams didnt want Sam because of his sexual orientation the Rams and Cowboys would of never picked him up to begin with. Dude had some minor highlights in preseason playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers but that isnt a basis for "talent". Come on man.

JFC North, do you really think it had nothing to do with it? Really? Come on man, you are so much smarter than being blind to how gays are treated even to this day in this country, and the culture that surrounds football. If the majority of teams didn't want him because he's gay he might have only been picked up by...TWO teams, one of which was a temporary spot because he was on that team with a slew of pass rushers.

Guys, it's not like rocket science, and I know this message board really likes to pretend that no groups are disadvantaged, but give me a break. With Sam there is a media circus. If you are a media circus type of player you will be let go unless your play lives up to the 'pain' involved. So again, ask yourself, how many fourth round pass rushers, you know that coveted position/role find themselves out of the league after one year? Does that happen a lot? When it happens, what is the cause? Is it injury? Is it off field issues?

Originally Posted by King87

JFC North, do you really think it had nothing to do with it? Really? Come on man, you are so much smarter than being blind to how gays are treated even to this day in this country, and the culture that surrounds football. If the majority of teams didn't want him because he's gay he might have only been picked up by...TWO teams, one of which was a temporary spot because he was on that team with a slew of pass rushers.

Guys, it's not like rocket science, and I know this message board really likes to pretend that no groups are disadvantaged, but give me a break. With Sam there is a media circus. If you are a media circus type of player you will be let go unless your play lives up to the 'pain' involved. So again, ask yourself, how many fourth round pass rushers, you know that coveted position/role find themselves out of the league after one year? Does that happen a lot? When it happens, what is the cause? Is it injury? Is it off field issues?

How many first round qbs with a play of win, that attract a similar circus struggle to find a team.

Easy - anyone who is not good enough.

I see what you're saying, King. When you have a guy like him who probably is good enough to at least be on a roster but is borderline, I can absolutely see teams picking a guy of equal or even slightly lesser talent over him in leiu of dealing with the distraction. It sucks, but our society still isn't in a place where a gay guy playing football is no big deal.

This is a subjective debate. I think if teams thought he'd help them win football games he'd be on their roster.

Originally Posted by Al Wilson 4 Mayor

I think if teams thought he'd help them win football games he'd be on their roster.

That's my whole argument wrapped up in one awesome sentence

Originally Posted by King87

How many openly gay players are there?

openly to the public or openly within the NFL community? two very different things, but I get your point

Personally, I think you could compare what it's like to taking a shower with openly gay dude to what women would feel like if there were a straight male taking showers with them in their lockerroom. Can anybody envision a day in society when that's "no big deal"?

Originally Posted by Jaded

Personally, I think you could compare what it's like to taking a shower with openly gay dude to what women would feel like if there were a straight male taking showers with them in their lockerroom. Can anybody envision a day in society when that's "no big deal"?

this is the first thing you have posted since i joined this MB that i disagree with.

I honestly could not give a rats ass if i was in a shower with a load of gay guys - just because they they are gay - does not make them rapists!

Originally Posted by Jaded

Personally, I think you could compare what it's like to taking a shower with openly gay dude to what women would feel like if there were a straight male taking showers with them in their lockerroom. Can anybody envision a day in society when that's "no big deal"?

Well said. It is a big deal. If you are openly gay you should be banned from the showers area, restrooms and locker rooms when it's changing time. It's the exact equivalent of a male being in a females locker room. Why do we seperate in the first place??? Sex and perversions. No female wants a complete stranger starring at her vagina when she is changing.

Michael Sam likes men, he has engaged in sexual acts with men. Don't tell me for one second he wasn't looking forward to seeing a bunch of naked dudes in the locker room. That's like paradise to him.

Originally Posted by Valar Morghulis

this is the first thing you have posted since i joined this MB that i disagree with.

I honestly could not give a rats ass if i was in a shower with a load of gay guys - just because they they are gay - does not make them rapists!

Yes they are, there's a pie chart somewhere that proves it.

Most of us do not find ourselves in public showers. It depends on the facility, how much room you are afforded, etc.

Players wandered around locker rooms with their members exposed before and after showering in the old days until women reporters demanded the same access as the men. Some men fought the idea because they didn't want women in there while they acted like overgrown boys.

To this day, most women do not have their locker rooms invaded by reporters. Reporters are led to an "interview room" where the fully-clothed and composed athlete comes out and takes questions, often one at a time.

I think most men who find themselves in a public shower such as a stadium locker room do not ask themselves "I wonder if there are any gays in here with me?" They'd rather not know. But if a player openly proclaims their homosexuality and the media asks questions to the players about gay players, it can cause a rift that most coaches would find an unnecessary distraction.

A guy like Michael Sam could be dismissed and the team loses virtually nothing. But let the outed player be the star QB or the big defensive stud, I think you'll find most teams would rather keep the gay star and live with the distraction that let the player go. Sam was disposable. If a really big star came out as gay, it will change the discussion, big time.