Michael Sam became the first active football player to come out and announce that he is gay.  No one believes that he is the first ever gay player in the NFL but being the first to admit it while still playing is significant.  Kerry Rhodes is RUMORED to be gay and he couldn’t find a job in the NFL last season despite being one of the better safeties in the game according to the stats.  Michael Sam has not been drafted yet so he is taking a gigantic risk by coming out before the combine and before the season has actually started.  There is no guarantee that he will be drafted or make a team now that he has come out as gay.  He was projected to be a 3rd – 5th round draft pick before the announcement.  I have very little doubt that some teams, if not all, will refuse to draft him now or at least will lower projections on him to 5th – 7th round.  This decision could cost Michael Sam millions of dollars.

That is a picture of Michael Sam.  He does not have horns.  He is not red with an evil goatee.  He doesn’t look anything like the stereotypical Satan:

Michael Sam just looks like a normal human being.  And when he is playing football, he looks like a normal football player:

He was the defensive player of the year in the SEC, the undisputed best football conference in college football.  That means that the kid can play some good football.  He is 6’2 and 255 pounds.  He needs to put on a few pounds to be a DE in the NFL but he could transition into a linebacker spot which having the name MIKE SAM is where he belongs.  If he was projected as a 3rd round pick, why should admitting he is gay make him undraftable as many “anonymous” NFL executives stated in an interview with Sports Illustrated?

One of the arguments that people have is that it would be “dangerous” for straight players to be in a locker room with a gay man.  Showering together would be awkward or lead to problems.  NFL players have actually voiced this opinion.  Michael Sam did not become gay yesterday.  He has showered with teammates in high school and college.  No incidents have been reported.  Heterosexuals are always afraid that a gay guy is going to find them attractive, hit on them and/or try to rape them in the shower.  If a gay man knows that you are a heterosexual, I’m fairly confident that they will not waste their time trying to romance you.

Another argument that homophobes come up with is that it would create too much distraction for the team to succeed.  Michael Sam told his college teammates before the 2013 season started that he was gay.  Mizzou went from a 5-7 record in 2012 to a 12-2 record and almost winning the SEC championship and playing for the national title AFTER he admitted he was gay.  It didn’t seem to hurt his performance on the field or anyone else’s on the team.

Of course, the media did not know or at least did not report on Michael Sam being gay during the Mizzou football season.  So it can be argued that Mizzou did not have the public distraction to deal with in this case.  It could also be argued that the media and fan spotlight is much bigger and brighter in the NFL than in college football so it wouldn’t be a fair comparison even if the media had been reporting on during the college season.

There is only one problem with this whole “distraction” nonsense as being a viable reason to not draft Michael Sam and Jon Stewart hammered the point home on a recent edition of The Daily Show.  He proved how hypocritical and full of crap the “distraction” reason really is due to how the NFL has traditionally handled players that cause distractions:

Donte Stallworth was convicted a KILLING A MAN while driving under the influence!  Not only did he just have to serve a ridiculous and repugnant 30 days in jail, he was welcomed back to the NFL with open arms.  That wasn’t too big of a distraction.  How about…

Not only did Ray Lewis get welcomed back into the NFL after obstructing justice in a double murder case (some still think he did more than just obstruct justice in that case) but he is treated like a freaking patron saint and thought of as the greatest linebacker in history and a great leader of men.  That wasn’t too big of a distraction for the NFL.  How about…

Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault/rape on MULTIPLE occasions.  MULTIPLE.  He wasn’t too big of a distraction for the Steelers to pay $100M to quarterback their football team.  How about…

The Eagles had no problem with keeping Riley Cooper on the team after he his racist rant at a concert.  They made the playoffs with him as a key contributor.  It wasn’t too much of a distraction.

Last but not least:

Michael Vick served 548 days in prison for being a dog killer among other offenses.  He was away from the game for 2 years!  Yet he was welcomed back to the NFL with open arms.  He wasn’t too much of a distraction.

There are dozens of other instances that can be made along these lines.  The “anonymous” NFL executives interviewed by SI are basically saying that it is ok to be a murderer or an accessory to murder or a rapist or convicted felon that sent 2 years in jail or a racist or a drug dealer or a drug user or beat your wife/girlfriend and you are not too much of a distraction to play in the NFL…BUT…if you are gay, you are too much of a distraction.  Somehow, in 2014, actions between two consenting adults that doesn’t hurt a single person or thing is still more villified than being a killer.

This is the sad world that we are living in.  Good luck Michael Sam.  I hope you get drafted.  I hope you make the roster.  I hope you have a good career.  I hope you show some of these neanderthals stuck in the past that sexual orientation has no impact on what happens on a football field.