WOW .. All-American player says "I am gay." This is huge ...

[Bayside44]

That's the crazy thing about the NFL, guys just go away.

 

[All4SU]

Interesting that the SEC defensive player of the year is a mid round pick...that's surprising. As for him being gay, I couldn't care less...dudes a football player that played for Missouri and all I know is that somebody ought to tell him that Alec Lemon is still open in the end zone.

Yeah, I guess that's where I'm coming from too. I recognize that being public about it in the NFL is groundbreaking. But I just don't care. Maybe I'm ahead of the curve on this one.

 

[OttoMets]

Can you imagine that being an acceptable mindset in any othe business. Oh, maybe in a couple of decades the trading floor/movie set/legislature/loading dock/supermarket will be ready for a gay employee... These people are all such cowards. Don't dopey football coaches love to yammer on and on about molding character and that BS? How about telling your team to and be tolerant.

Coward is the right word.

This probably isn't the right thread for me to make generalizations, but damn - football people can be such awful human beings.

 

[DownTheField]

I was checking out the Clemson board to see what they had to say about the bball game and saw that they were talking about this topic.

A couple of interesting quotes:

"Being gay isn't anything to brag about. In the words of Strom Thurmond...'your [sic] sick, and you need to get yourself checked out'."

"segregationists didn't have Biblical backing for their viewpoints where for Christians and those that believe the Bible (or h3ll even muslims), there is backing when we say that being gay is a sin and is dead wrong"

This seems to be the prevalent opinion over there. This, and that humans killed all the dinosaurs.

 

[Guinness]

"segregationists didn't have Biblical backing for their viewpoints where for Christians and those that believe the Bible (or h3ll even muslims), there is backing when we say that being gay is a sin and is dead wrong"

That one in particular is hilarious because the bible was used quite often to justify slavery and then later segregation.

 

[Townie72]

This is going to sound horrible...

But the better player Sam becomes, the better it will be for gays in all sports, not just football. If he becomes a kick-ass player in the league, his teammates will accept him, and no longer will their be thoughts and voices saying "gay people can't make it in the NFL, they don't have the mentality"

If Jackie Robinson hadn't been as good a baseball player as he was, how long would it have been before another African American player would have been allowed in the MLB?

Here's to hoping Sam gets drafted by a good organization (with limited media coverage, AKA anywhere but NY) who has a plan for Sam and he develops quickly into one of the leagues better pass-rush specialists.

Just how good a player was Jackie Robinson?

 

[NashvilleOrange]

Gary Pinkel is a hell of a coach. He almost wins the SEC is his second season in the conference, before the season he was the #1 SEC coach on the hot seat. Very cool that he built such a great culture of trust and acceptance in the locker room. I'll be rooting for Missouri and Michael Sam.

 

[NKR1978]

I was checking out the Clemson board to see what they had to say about the bball game and saw that they were talking about this topic.

A couple of interesting quotes:

"Being gay isn't anything to brag about. In the words of Strom Thurmond...'your [sic] sick, and you need to get yourself checked out'."

"segregationists didn't have Biblical backing for their viewpoints where for Christians and those that believe the Bible (or h3ll even muslims), there is backing when we say that being gay is a sin and is dead wrong"

This seems to be the prevalent opinion over there. This, and that humans killed all the dinosaurs.

Sadly a lot of deep south schools seem to have that as their prevailing view.

 

[billsin01]

Seperate locker rooms? What?!

Well, separate but equal. In all honesty I hope that isn't the case -- then SU will have to build a gay IPF for hoops and football. That will get expensive.

 

[billsin01]

This story is up there with Manti Teo's fake girlfriend in that it will get some press coverage for a bit then just die away.

This really isn't big news in the year 2014. Lots of gay athletes.

I disagree on both counts in that I'm still completely confused by the T'eo story and would still love to find out what actually went on there. It just makes no sense.

But I don't think most football locker rooms follow the trends of the greater society at large. If I had to guess there are still plenty of narrow-minded buffoons gracing the rosters of every team in the NFL.

 

[Pat Kelly]

This is going to sound horrible...

But the better player Sam becomes, the better it will be for gays in all sports, not just football. If he becomes a kick-ass player in the league, his teammates will accept him, and no longer will their be thoughts and voices saying "gay people can't make it in the NFL, they don't have the mentality"

If Jackie Robinson hadn't been as good a baseball player as he was, how long would it have been before another African American player would have been allowed in the MLB?

Here's to hoping Sam gets drafted by a good organization (with limited media coverage, AKA anywhere but NY) who has a plan for Sam and he develops quickly into one of the leagues better pass-rush specialists.

I don't see where the horrible part is? That's true.

Just how good a player was Jackie Robinson?

6 AS Games in 10 seasons, won an MVP, World Series Champion, etc.

 

[Townie72]

I don't see where the horrible part is? That's true.


6 AS Games in 10 seasons, won an MVP, World Series Champion, etc.

Career 311 hitter. 16 HRs a year. He was good, even very good in 1949.

But he wasn't a great player by any means. People get confused. I used to watch the Dodgers and the Giants and the Phils alot.

In a way that he was a solid player speaks more to Rickey's courage than if he were Mays or Aaron.

 

[Symphony Steve]

When I was a kid, the Phils played in a dump called Connie Mack Stadium.

Saw a Phils-Dodgers game there, I think I was about seven years old. I remember asking my dad why there were more people wearing Brooklyn and/or LA Dodgers caps than Phils caps.

He told me about Jackie Robinson and how black fans had an undying allegiance to the team that broke the color barrier. It was only then that I realized that almost all the fans wearing Dodger blue were indeed black.

You know, the same thing could happen, albeit to a lesser extent, with Sam. It could WELL be a marketing coup for whatever team he ends up with. And I think that'd be great.

Assuming he can play in the NFL.

 

[br801]

Career 311 hitter. 16 HRs a year. He was good, even very good in 1949.

But he wasn't a great player by any means. People get confused. I used to watch the Dodgers and the Giants and the Phils alot.

In a way that he was a solid player speaks more to Rickey's courage than if he were Mays or Aaron.

The bolded statement just isn't true.

He certainly didn't put up big power numbers, but he was an outstanding baserunner and solid defender at multiple positions who hit .311 for his career with a .409 OBP and .883 OPS. And let's remember that he didn't play in the NL until he was 28. Even factoring out his pioneering role in integrating the game, his relatively brief career was Hall of Fame-worthy on the numbers alone.

 

[Townie72]

The bolded statement just isn't true.

He certainly didn't put up big power numbers, but he was an outstanding baserunner and solid defender at multiple positions who hit .311 for his career with a .409 OBP and .883 OPS. And let's remember that he didn't play in the NL until he was 28. Even factoring out his pioneering role in integrating the game, his relatively brief career was Hall of Fame-worthy on the numbers alone.

Sorry, I can't give him any credit for anything he did before he came to the majors.

I am an old guy. I watched a lot of those games. The guy is IMO overvalued because he was the first black player and no one wants to criticize him.

That team had a lot of good players and he was one of them.

 

[br801]

Sorry, I can't give him any credit for anything he did before he came to the majors.

I am an old guy. I watched a lot of those games. The guy is IMO overvalued because he was the first black player and no one wants to criticize him.

That team had a lot of good players and he was one of them.

I was simply making a case for his on-field MLB career and whether it was HoF-worthy. I believe it was. Was he the equal of Mays or Aaron, or guys like Clemente or Frank Robinson? Probably not. But he was still a great baseball player.

 

[Townie72]

I was simply making a case for his on-field MLB career and whether it was HoF-worthy. I believe it was. Was he the equal of Mays or Aaron, or guys like Clemente or Frank Robinson? Probably not. But he was still a great baseball player.

Unfortunately, you will never be able to separate out the "first negro player" component of this.

Maybe I'm not giving the guy enough credit because I think too many overvalue him as a player because of the other stuff.

I will tell you this.

If you have ever been at a ballpark and Puljos comes up the anticipation of the crowd changes the environment in the stands. Same thing with Mantle or Clemente or anybody who is obviously "great". I never got that same sense with Robinson. He was a good player on a team of good players.

I was saddened, but not surprised, when Ken Burn's Baseball series on PBS seemed to suggest that the most important thing to happen in a Century of baseball was Robinson's entry into MLB.

 

[ottodaorange]

In response to "the locker room" Jon Stewart nailed it last night and Vilma is a Neanderthal.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/