Missouri defensive end Michael Sam is months away from learning his NFL Draft fate and already, he’s made a bigger impact on the league with millions and millions of people tuning in every Sunday, than most do throughout a career.
Theo Lawson | Argonaut
Sam’s act of bravery has the NFL world spinning. Analysts ponder whether or not the co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year will plummet in draft stock, while players weigh the idea of sharing a locker room with an openly gay player.
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma addressed that scenario last week.
“Imagine if he’s the guy next to me and I get dressed, naked, the whole nine and it just so happens he looks at me. How am I supposed to respond?” Vilma said during an interview with NFL Network.
It’s ill advised and ignorant to assume that all gay men think you’re attractive. Yet it’s even more selfish to assume that the NFL players, coaches, front office personnel and fans are the affected group at this moment, because a few have yet to warm up to the idea of a homosexual defensive end.
For Sam, it’s the beginning of a journey that is sure to knock him in the face a couple of times. Yet, with the strength he’s displayed thus far, there’s no doubt he’ll be able to pick himself back up.
Sam’s landmark decision is one that came one year after mustering the courage to come out to his teammates at the University of Missouri. Mizzou responded with its best season in school history — one that saw the Tiger defense, anchored by Sam, allow just more than 10 points per game in its final four SEC regular-season contests.
And to think, NFL officials anticipate that Sam’s “circus” will serve as a distraction for whichever team selects him.
Though their situations aren’t comparable, the same was said about San Diego Chargers linebacker Manti Te’o, the ex-Notre Dame star who was caught in the middle of a hoax regarding an ex-girlfriend of Te’o’s.
San Diego and its new linebacker watched the talk blow over and the Chargers rode into the regular season with a single distraction — Te’o’s foot injury.
NBA player Jason Collins made an announcement similar to Sam’s last April, coming out as the first openly gay athlete in American professional sports.
That news, too, has died down.
With months until the Draft, there’s little Sam can do to raise his stock. His SEC Player of the Year honor speaks for itself, as do his 11 sacks playing against the best offensive lines in the nation.
His impact on an NFL defense is just as unpredictable.
Yet even if Sam isn’t an every-down type of player at the next level, even if his NFL career spans just three years on the sideline, his influence will last as long as any single-game sack record every will.
Sam’s courage has surely alleviated the pressure that gay athletes at every level have experienced as our nation moves into an age of acceptance. Now, we can only hope that this kind of announcement is but a murmur years down the road, rather than an international phenomenon.
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]