Miscellaneous
When Michael Sam told his University of Missouri teammates he was gay before last season, it wasn’t a big deal. It’s a safe bet that NFL teams – who know what kind of gum their prospects chew – already knew this, too. But when Sam came out publicly, it changed the equation. The NFL has already had gay players, so that’s not new. But publicly declaring you’re gay is new – and so is the onslaught of media attention. After Sam came out, he dropped from a projected fourth- or fifth-rounder to the seventh and final round. Part of the reason was surely homophobia – though that term isn’t accurate. To paraphrase Morgan Freeman, “If you’re homophobic, you’re not afraid of homosexuals. You’re just an A-hole.” But the NFL teams that passed on Sam probably had other reasons, too. Yes, Sam was named defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, but he’s not a complete player. He’s great at sacking quarterbacks, but not at covering the run. At the NFL Combine, his numbers for speed