O. T. : Michael Sam says he's gay

[Panama]

Big mistake, people don't need to know this, especially football people.

I disagree. If he compares to Larry English, everyone needs to know, especially football people. We need guys who can play football, not more Larry Englishes!

[MakoShark]

If he can get to the QB no fan will care. I just wonder what kind of potential distraction he would be in a locker room.

[Panama]

If he can get to the QB no fan will care. I just wonder what kind of potential distraction he would be in a locker room.

Less so than if he'd been a closeted gay. This apparently wasn't a very big secret; just about everyone on the Mizzou campus knew. It would only be a distraction in the locker room if his teammates felt he was hiding something from them (or if the media made an unnecessarily huge deal out of it). There might be a few haters and homophobes, but I imagine most teammates wouldn't bat an eyelid.

[homeless simpson]

I just wonder what kind of potential distraction he would be in a locker room.

the article says he announced to his team that he was gay in preseason last year. so, it wasn't distracting enough to hinder him from becoming SEC defensive player of the year and the team winning the SEC East.

[6025]

If he can get to the QB no fan will care. I just wonder what kind of potential distraction he would be in a locker room.

Probably none whatsoever as long as he produces. If he can't, he just gets benched or cut like any other player.

[Yubaking]

To me, this is just not the big deal issue that the media is making it out to be. By far, the greater issue will be whether or not he can play. Like the Te'o fake girlfriend drama or other pre-draft dramas, I think it will die down unless independent events happen later to keep the story alive.

[Steve]

Larry English performance on the field isn't even the problem, it is his injury history. if he had ever gotten on the field and stayed there, he would probably be a pretty good player by now.

If you watch Sam in the early season Missouri games, he is the player who really stood out. Sam plays pretty fast, but unless he really shocks people with a great 40 time, people are going to be more concerned with his height and bulk then anything. But some 34 team will still take him as a 34 OLB. Ealy i probably going to be a late 1st, or 2nd round pick, but he was a bit of a late bloomer. Ealy gets looked at as a possible #1 because he is like 6'4" or 6'5", and really looks the part of a 43 DE, and he has the movement skills of a 34 OLB. But looking at the better career, Sam is a far better prospect. Ealy projects better, but he is going to be a project for someone. Sam is probably going to be playing sooner, although he may not have the upside.

Sam is one of those guys who is going to get a lot of attention at the combine, but that was always going to be the case to some degree. The guy is a tweener who can rush the QB, and every team has a interest in those guys, because everyone needs pass rushers. Is he fast enough, are his arms long enough ... Now there is one more thing.

Mort and Schefter both said that NFL teams are only really questioning this in terms of the timing, in his coming out before or after the combine. Some felt that it would be less of a distraction if he had not come out until after the combine. I think it is a good move to get it over with, being the media circus now. Once he started talking to teams about it, and that would have come up, it was going to leak for sure. Some teams may get scared off because of the media coverage. They have seen the downside with Tebow in the past, and that situation didn't do the Broncos, Jets or NE any favors. Donks and NE handled it OK, but it didn't help any. Jets really handled it badly. The flip side is we got a pretty good LB and handled the deal pretty well with Teo, broken foot and all.

So, can Sam be this seasons Kennan Allen. The scouting term for this sort of irrelevant distraction with a player is called the guy have "warts". Do Sam and his warts scare enough people off that we can find another diamond in the draft when al the other people focus on things that just don't matter at all?

[bonehead]

Big mistake, people don't need to know this, especially football people.

Hang on Lombardo there will be more......and it won't be a big mistake

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

If the NFL would stop punishing pot smoking, I'm pretty sure no one would even know how to spell Sam's name much less pay attention to his sexual orientation.

I'm starting a movement called "I'm with Cro."

[bonehead]

If the NFL would stop punishing pot smoking, I'm pretty sure no one would even know how to spell Sam's name much less pay attention to his sexual orientation.

I'm starting a movement called "I'm with Cro."

"I'm with Cro"......I like it...do we get to wear a ribbon?

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

You do. Actually, you get to wear 12 green ribbons.

[bonehead]

Vegas has Sam draft spot over/under at 125.5