by Arthur L. Caplan & Lee H. Igel
Forbes.com | February 10, 2014
Michael Sam earned All-America honors as a football player at the University of Missouri and was named the Associated Press SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Because of accomplishments like these, he is probably going to be selected by one franchise or another in the upcoming NFL Draft. But something Sam said during a recent interview with ESPN may lower his stock. As he put it: “I’m not afraid to tell the world who I am. … I’m a college graduate. I’m African American, and I’m gay.”
The reaction to Sam’s announcement is that it is “groundbreaking,” a “watershed moment.” But is it really? Is there now going to be a debate about the pros and cons of a NFL player being openly gay? At this point in time, is there actually an issue here?
There are two reasons why the tempest over Sam coming out as gay is a non-issue.
One reason is that the NFL is not without its share of players who have been arrested on serious charges, uttered overtly racist remarks, forgiven for killing dogs, and implicated in serious rules violations while playing in college. But an even bigger reason is that the issue of acceptance of homosexuality is a train that has long left the station.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeigel/2014/02/10/michael-sams-announcement-is-a-non-issue-not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-that/
