As IF Times

Source: Michael Sam saga might keep other gay NFL hopefuls from coming out, former exec says | NFL | Sporting News

I’m puzzled by the significance of this ‘story’.  Considering all that’s going on in the world, it’s odd that anyone  gives a hill of beans about whether prospective pro football players are in angst about coming out about their sexual orientation.

Pro football and pro hockey are arguably two of the most macho and physical sports in which athletes can participate.  It’s not like basketball which is notionally a non contact sport, or baseball with the majority of the time spent standing around doing nothing.  Or heaven forbid, golf in which people aren’t even allowed to breathe loudly while the players are addressing the ball.  In football, the players participate in what has been characterized as a car crash on every play, with plenty of opportunity for serious bodily harm.  How would being gay (or not) have any bearing on play?

I’m unconvinced that outing yourself as being gay has any relevance at all in the very competitive world of pro football.  Is this issue more relevant here than in any other sport? Or for that matter, any other profession? How is it that the sporting world hums merrily along without  people heroically jumping out of closets?  Are we to believe that there are no gays in other sports?  More likely, it’s because it’s just no one else’s business, no more relevant than if they preferred tea to coffee.

The stark reality is, this public outing of one’s sexual persuasion is no longer the brave thing it was a decade ago.  Times have changed.  The constant lobbying, pride parades and media tsk tsking has worked.  Nowadays, to announce one’s gayness is less risky than to admit that you have gingivitis.  Heck, now we assume everyone’s gay.  The only reason to make any public proclamation is for publicity value if you’re in a high profile job.  But the novelty of that has worn off too.

One of the basic demands of any identifiable group is that they be treated no differently than anyone else.  The corollary of this should be that identity with a group should not confer any special treatment either.  It can’t be a crutch or a free pass to the front of the line when other comparative aspects are lacking.  Once we create affirmative action for all subsets of society, there’ll be no one to complain to.  If you really want to be brave these days, try telling people that you like Trump.  It may be that Sam is gay, but given all of the moaning, I think he’s more of a drama queen.

link It’s Time for the N.F.L. to Welcome a Gay Player – NYTimes.com.

It’s time. Really? Why? What possible difference does it make for one to announce their sexual preferences as part of fulfilling a job role? Why does announcing sexual proclivity have any bearing on how competent you may or may not be for a job?

How does being gay affect one’s role as an auto mechanic? A postal worker? A dentist? A sports announcer or even a football player.  If you listen to the pleadings of gay activist groups, they insist that all they want is to be treated like everyone else, without discrimination.  Ironically, broadcasting gayness only puts a light on themselves, essentially begging for special attention.

It’s as if you insisted on revealing to your future employer that you collected stamps, or liked to eat with your bare hands while naked, or  watched ostrich wrestling.  Who cares? Nobody asked!

Some nutbar writing for USA Today opined that this guy Michael Sam coming out was comparable to Jackie Robinson’s circumstance.  Keen observers may note that Jackie Robinson did a poor job of hiding his condition at the time, so ‘coming out’ may not be the best characterization.  Robinson’s achievement was ultimately based on his skill, not because he satisfied a PC agenda.  If he stunk, he’d have been a very minor footnote in history and the answer to a Jeopardy question on sports trivia. Maybe he was gay as well.  Who knows, who cares.

The NFL, as is the case with all pro sports, likely already have contingents of gay participants.  Think of all the hugging that goes on in football, the skin tight pants.  Heck even throwing the yellow hankies to signal a penalty seems a bit dainty if you think about it.

If this guy Michael Sam is any good, somebody will pick him up. But he should decide whether it’s more important to be a ball player who happens to be gay or a gay person first who happens to play football.  Regardless of whom he winds up playing for, he’d better develop a thick skin because his teammates will make fun of him; for having two first names.