What in the Michael Sam hell is he doing?

Back when I read about NFL hopeful Michael Sam coming out of the closet I was struck with a few immediate thoughts.” I bet he wants to be a 49’er.” was my initial thought. My second thought was “Who the hell is Michael Sam?” I’m relatively up on college football and I had never heard of him. My final thought was “I sure hope he’s good.”

I welcome the social progress with open arms, but let’s not be naïve here; If he’s not good, this won’t make much of a social impact. Until we have a hard-nosed, respected  and feared opponent that also likes to watch musicals in his spare time, the stigma will still strongly exist. So as I watched the commentary progress from the announcement on ESPN to the NFL combine a couple weeks later, followed by the NFL Draft just last week, I waited.

Sam, the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year, on paper is a good player. His stats earned him multiple prestigious honors, his teammates respected him and he seemed like a good kid. However, his performance at the NFL Combine was poor. (For any non-NFL readers, the combine is where prospects go to workout for coaches to measure speed, strength, etc in preparation for the draft)

Some people were disgusted that he didn’t get drafted until the last round . “Oh, nobody took him because he’s gay.” Shut the hell up. He didn’t get drafted until then because he’s really not that good.  He performed poorly at the combine and didn’t impress much at any public workouts. People drop from mid-round projections to being undrafted every single year. Let’s also not forget that these projections are determined by countless assholes in the media who spew non-sense as if they’re certified NFL dieties that nobody will question.

 I for one was excited at the prospect of having a stud NFL linebacker as openly gay. It’s good for the players, it’s good for the league and it will be good for society. Which makes this post-draft circus all the more disgusting.

At first I was able to ignore the media. It’s a talent you must develop in order to consume anything on TV while remaining mildly un-retarded. The first wave was him coming out—“celebrate his courage.” Then was the combine—“he didn’t perform as well as he could have.” Then reality arrived.

At the draft, the media can play it’s part but at the end of the day, if you are good enough, a team will find a way to use you. Sam was chosen in the 7^th and final round of the draft (249^th of 256 picks). This essentially means that you’re going to have to bust your ass in every facet of the game in order to make that roster.  Not only do you need to perform on the field, you have to convince your coaches and teammates that you’re poised to be an NFL player off the field as well. Now that Sam has been drafted to the St. Louis Rams, this is his opportunity to be the leader of a new era of sports.

While Sam seemingly is a good kid, it was the article I read today that tells me this attempt at progress will fall flat and here is why. As mentioned, Sam’s draft position means he’s got a lot of work to do between today and August when the 53 man roster must be determined. That is common knowledge from the waterboy to the GM of the team. Guys in his position have to want it.

Sam doesn’t want it.

Shortly after the draft he had an interview where he rightly attended to the subject of how his being openly gay will affect his football career. He said he was just going to focus on football and that’s all that matters. CORRECT ANSWER! The question is, did he mean it? Generally that’s a judgement call to make, but I’m not calling Judge Judy on this one, this one is obvious. Michael Sam followed that quote with an announcement a few days later that he’s going to have a reality TV show on Oprah’s network…………. Um……….. You BARELY got drafted, haven’t even made the team and when your comments implied that you’d like to quiet the media commentary on his sexual preference, he goes and gives them an amplifier, dozens of microphones, arena sized speakers and OPRAH-FUCKING-WINFREY. ?.?.?

Now here is why I’m upset. He announced his business to the world likely for himself and/or his family. I applaud him for that. However, in his position, he had to understand the baggage that came with that. Whether he likes it or not, he’s now an official representative and he is blowing his boyfriend opportunity. It’d be one thing if he gave it his all and just couldn’t make the team; At least then we’d go to sleep having to believe he did his best. That is the characteristic that people want to associate with. But if you’re working reality TV deals before you even get your jersey, you’re an idiot, arguably selfish and frankly irresponsible. The only saving grace to the deal is that I do agree that if it helps get his story out to people struggling with similar issues, it’s productive. Apparently a 15 year old kid came out to his father as they watched Sam get drafted. That is invaluable. 

With all that said, doing what he's doing now will likely result in him getting cut, if for nothing else, because the team was concerned about his focus given his decisions. That's like selling your shares of stock knowing that with a little hard work and dedication, you could take that private company public. Sure you’re going to get the topic to the forefront, but if you don’t even make the team, your ability to keep the issue relevant for a long period of time is shortened to whatever community centers will let you speak while the Rams are on TV.  

I’m fully aware that as I sit here at my dining room table complaining, most of my problems likely do not coincide with that of a 24 year old kid who just go drafted in the NFL. But common sense should bind us all. If it did, this place would run much more smoothly.

All in all, I still completely support the kid (even though he’s on a division rivals team). I’m just disappointed at the execution of this all. He is publicly falling short of his potential and that bums me out. Fifty years down the road, I’d like to have seen him remembered as a pioneer. But right now, he’s more likely to end up on a list with Ryan Leaf and Bryan Bosworth.