I was born in the 80’s, I am a child of the 90’s and I became a man during a time of terrorism, Venus vs. Serena, Britney vs. Christina and the birth and obliteration of the Armstrong illusion. Now that I am at the beginning of the second act of my life, I remain fixated on the fact that 14 years into the 21st Century, a young man has been placed on a glass slide, dissected and examined so that armchair attorneys can take to their proverbial lecterns in an effort to convince others (and maybe themselves) that Michael Sam does or does not belong in the NFL. What are we to make of the curious case of Michael Sam?
In an age when ISIS is beheading innocent lives or the death of a minority youth is ruling national debate, there are still people whose coiffed feathers get ruffled by the idea of the first openly gay professional football player.
On paper, there would seem little reason why Sam, the former Mizzou Tiger who tied the team’s single season record for sacks in his senior year, would not get a fair shake with NFL franchises; consensus All-American and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year are important trophies to have on your mantle when you’re about to go pro. With those accolades in tow, Sam could have been afforded an equal shot at at proving himself, the same as Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall, or Marc Trestman, or Roman Gabriel. A couple of those names you may recognize, and others you don’t.
It’s certain the Chicago Bears weren’t worried about the “Jewishness” of Marc Trestman when they offered him the opportunity to lead the Bears, making him the first Jewish head coach in NFL history. And I’m sure Roman Gabriel’s Pilipino heritage didn’t preclude New England from drafting him as the first Asian-American in the NFL in 1992. Being black didn’t prohibit Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall from being counted as the first-ever African-American professional football players in segregated 1920.
For those names you are able to recognize, can you remember camera crews staked out at their homes when their positions were announced? Do you recall the media reporting erroneous stories about their showering habits in the locker room? No. That is because, as we have witnessed a wave of important firsts in football, rarely have we ventured into the taboo subject of sexuality in men’s sports.
Even in a stereotyped sport like figure skating, it is widely believed and is conventional knowledge that male skaters are expected to project asexual personas, keeping any homosexuality to themselves, something governing federations don’t have a problem with as the delicate balance of positive public perception and advertising dollars remains incubated under a dome of oblique complicity. Case in point: Brian Boitano, one of his sport’s most recognizable faces and more than two-and-a-half decades removed from bringing home Olympic Gold. Boitano only publicly came out in approach of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a protest of sorts to challenge Russia’s widely-condemned anti-gay laws.
Fast forward from the hubbub the Kremlin stoked and find yourself looking into that suburban living room on the final day of the 2014 NFL Draft. ‘Thank you’, Sam managed to mumble to Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher, shedding tears of joy and relief, and then embracing something unthinkable on ESPN; kissing his boyfriend as millions watched from their own living rooms.
There were mostly positive ovations to the Rams bold pick, ranging from your typical hetero neighbor to LGBT activists and President Obama. However, peppered throughout were the requisite opposing reactions from the general public, as well as from the Twitter accounts of professional athletes of various leagues.
As the first roster cut deadline came and went at the end of August, the notable Defensive End survived after playing in each of the Rams preseason games, while memorably flashing the “money” gesture after sacking another lauded 2014 draftee, Johnny Manziel, and still battling fellow rookie Ethan Westbrooks, among others, for one of the quickly evaporating open spots on the defense-heavy St. Louis squad.
As the curious case of Michael Sam has begun to take shape, he has dug in and fought to keep his personal life from dictating his professional narrative. Tony Dungy, who took heat for perceived criticism of the 249th draft pick, reaped positive praise on the player’s overall preseason performance, saying ‘he’s played very well in the preseason’ and ‘it looks like he’s doing his job really well.’
While Michael Sam’s fate remains unsealed, we should only hope that the litmus test by which the Rams judge him from here on out takes into consideration what a man is supposed to be on the field; talented, able and hard-working, not what he is or isn’t off the field.
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