Michael Sam - NFL's first openly gay prospect

[thrill]

Mostly, I'm curious to see one of these guys (or women) live an openly gay life if they want to, without feeling the need to publicize it on national television.

Abby Wambach just "lived her life" for years and she never addressed the open secret of her sexuality until she got married last year.
Not that it matters, but I absolutely applaud her choice to do that because she was being true to herself. A lot of people felt that way, but there were certainly critics in the LGBT community that wanted and still want her to be more of an "out" role model for young gay people.

Soc, I don't think you're backwards or homophobic. I'm sure you'd be cynical about people publicly drawing attention to themselves for other reasons, but that said, maybe keep that opinion private like you wish other people would keep their sexuality.

[Socnorb11]

Mostly, I'm curious to see one of these guys (or women) live an openly gay life if they want to, without feeling the need to publicize it on national television.

Abby Wambach just "lived her life" for years and she never addressed the open secret of her sexuality until she got married last year.
Not that it matters, but I absolutely applaud her choice to do that because she was being true to herself. A lot of people felt that way, but there were certainly critics in the LGBT community that wanted and still want her to be more of an "out" role model for young gay people.

Soc, I don't think you're backwards or homophobic. I'm sure you'd be cynical about people publicly drawing attention to themselves for other reasons, but that said, maybe keep that opinion private like you wish other people would keep their sexuality.

Just so you know, I don't want people to keep their sexuality private. As I said, there is a LOT of room to work between secrecy and a public statement on ESPN. I attended my gay niece's wedding, and celebrated with her........ I'm very happy that she's comfortable enough to live her life the way she wants to, without turning it into a sideshow.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

- Depending on how he lived before that time, it might be disingenuous to just start "living his life" without calling attention to the fact that he's gay. It's not a trivial thing, and making sure everyone in his immediate circle is aware of it might require some sort of formal announcement to best communicate that change. Coming out isn't a thing because it's attention seeking, it's a thing because it's important in people around you understanding why "living your life" now means something very different.

- Athletes at high levels that have come out in any way are extraordinarily rare, for a multitude of reasons that aren't terribly important to this specific point. As a result, a high level athlete being gay is going to garner a lot of attention.

- Because of those two things, it simply makes practical sense to make that announcement and speak to the media hungry for that story in one step. It also allows to better control the story itself, and has the previously discussed side benefits of being an example to others.

I'm sure both Sam and Gordon wish that such an announcement were so trivial that it didn't make sense to publicize it or potentially come off as attention seeking. But until there's many more like them in high level sports, that day isn't here yet.

[MrCrowesGarden]

249th overall to the Rams.

[ghostrunner]

I hope the Rams are ready for the boycott by whatever obscure Christian group I read about the other day.

[Freed Roger]

249th overall to the Rams.

Worth a shot. Up until Auburn, he was kickin ass in SEC.

[haltz]

Mostly, I'm curious to see one of these guys (or women) live an openly gay life if they want to, without feeling the need to publicize it on national television. Frankly, that's how 99% of homosexuals are going to have to address the issue, because they don't have a forum like ESPN. I'd like to see us get to the point where folks don't think they need to make a big deal of it on ESPN. Maybe we're not there yet.

Um, no. LGBT youths are 4x more likely to commit suicide, which is of course linked to ostracism and institutionalized homophobia (the NFL is a good example). As a public figure, his announcement is a positive step towards cultural acceptance.

And from a PR perspective, it was going to be national news either way because he did simply live an openly gay life for years. So he announced it and got ahead of the story.

[slide_into_first]

If Michael Sam marries Sam Michael, will the spouses be named Michael Michael and Sam Sam, or Michael Sam-Michael and Sam Michael-Sam?

[go birds]

mind = blown

[heyzeus]

Perhaps he wants to show young kids who may be ashamed of who they are that they don't have to be. Perhaps he wants to be part of the slow destruction of stereotypes that cast gay men as effeminate and not potent athletes. Perhaps he just wants to be famous. Probably not, but it's possible though I don't see why anyone would rush to believe anyone would have wrong intentions for just being themselves.

My point is that I would prefer that a guy like him just "be himself". I mean, it doesn't NEED to be a secret....... but as I said, there's a lot of territory between keeping a secret and making a public announcement on ESPN. Come out privately........ eventually folks will find out. Kids aren't going to be able to relate to this. If the "acceptable" way of coming out is to announce it on ESPN, then every gay kid in America is screwed.

At some point, it just seems disingenuous. Yeah, I'm probably overly cynical.

The back Story of how he came out is relevant here. Sam found out that several news outlets were working on a story about his sexuality. His teammates already knew, but the public and national media did not. So he and his people got out ahead of the story by making their own announcement first. If he didn't tell his story, someone else was going to tell the story for him.