Current Events –
Breaks Barriers
Current Events
Michael Sam is an extremely talented 24-year-old, 6’2″, 260 pound defensive lineman for the University of Missouri. He was a first-team all-American and was named the Associated Press defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, widely considered the top league in college football. His teammates voted him Missouri’s most valuable player and his unique talents have listed him as an expected high pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. But Michael Sam is also proudly and now openly gay, which could make him the first active professional football player to declare his homosexuality. This is an incredibly good thing.
For some odd reason, the professional sports world has been perpetually living in the 1940’s. Many players and coaches actually believe that no one on their team is gay, despite the law of averages making such a theory virtually impossible. In actuality, there are plenty of gay men and women in every sport imaginable, however they’ve all chosen to maintain their sexuality in secret — until now!
The burly, masculine, African-American and extremely charismatic Michael Sam is about to knock down sexuality barriers in professional sports the same way he knocks down an opposing player. His announcement that he is gay is not only an important first, but is now forcing players and teams to face their fears and biases. A team could forget all about sexuality and select Sam in the draft simply because he’s just that damned good. Or, they could allow antiquated prejudices to prevent them from obtaining the services of one of the top players in the entire draft, merely because he just happens to enjoy dating men in his free time.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE NFL:
“We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the N.F.L. We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”
Current Events
Some players couldn’t wait to display their ignorance and raced to publicly speak out against Sam, asking “What should I do if he looks at me while I’m in the shower naked?” Unfortunately, these players haven’t yet figured out that just because Sam is gay doesn’t mean he would have any desire to look at any of them, naked or otherwise. They also haven’t accepted the fact that there are already plenty of gay players showering and working next to them everyday, who just haven’t come out yet. Interestingly, these same players have gone out of their way to welcome domestic violence abusers, DUI arrestees, rapists, even a player who conducted dog fights then buried dog carcasses in his back yard. Oh, these type of players are welcomed with open arms, but a man who likes other men?? NO WAY!!!
Let’s face it…homosexuality exists. No matter how much some players, coaches and teams may want to pretend it doesn’t, particularly not on THEIR team, the truth is that IT DOES! Congratulations to Michael Sam for having the courage to dispel homosexual stereotypes and taking on the daunting challenge of fighting gay ignorance and bias in professional sports!
