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| Michael Sam |
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player ever to enter the National Football League draft, was taken by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick of the draft Saturday, proving precisely nothing about the state of homophobia in professional football.
Only one thing can be said with certainty: By taking Sam with the eighth-to-last pick of the seven-round draft, the St. Louis Rams saved the NFL a small public-relations nightmare.
Had he not been drafted, many questions would have been asked, most of them uncomfortable.
How could Sam, who was co-defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference – without question the top college football conference in the country – not even get drafted? How could a unanimous first-team All-American not be among the 256 players chosen by NFL teams? In an era when rushing the quarterback is perhaps the single most important defensive skill, why was someone with 11-1/2 sacks completely ignored?
Those questions have been avoided, though barely. Instead, different sorts of question have emerged: Why did it take so long for Sam to get drafted? Given that most seventh-round picks are largely throwaways, did the Rams draft Sam simply to save face for the league?
And, most poignantly, did 31 other teams want to avoid the image that came after Sam was finally drafted, when he kissed his boyfriend on live television?
The only people who know the answers to these questions are the people in the personnel departments of the NFL's 32 teams. Any other speculation is just that, because, despite his pedigree, Sam was a marginal draft prospect.
Had Sam been seen a can't-miss NFL star – someone who could change the shape of a defense – teams could not have avoided taking him. But most agree that his stock was hurt at least as much by his poor performances in the scouting combines and pro days as by his coming out.
Read the full story: www.csmonitor.com
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