Former NFL coach Tony Dungy, recently told the Tampa Tribune, “I wouldn’t have taken him. Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen.” Naturally, after Dungy’s statement went public he essentially transformed himself into a media Piñata to be destroyed repeatedly by any TV personality.
Now……there’s a point I want to make (just my opinion) on the above links I just showed you:
The use of the term “Minority Group” in the context of the above tweet, seems to indicate that he’s putting African Americans & Homosexuals in the same category; which I find to be slightly odd seeing as that one category is a Race of people & the latter is a form of sexual preference that has no specific race, gender, or even religion that defines it. But I digress…..
We at P.O.S try to not only inform the people of what’s relevant in our society, but also try to grant you a different perspective on popular topics that the general media for some odd reason won’t discuss. Such is the case of Michael Sam & his quest to be an NFL player. The problem with the Michael Sam story is two-fold. Obviously you all know the story about Michael Sam being gay & the endless debate about whether he could be a “distraction” to the team. Some of the questions asked this year have been: ” “Will Same be accepted by teammates” & “Is the NFL ready for an openly gay-player?” These are the general questions that have been asked from all the major media conglomerates; Walt Disney, CBS Corporations, Viacom, Time Warner & 21 Century FOX all jumped in on the Michael Sam story. It was the hot topic of sports that transcended into the mainstreams networks back in the early Spring leading up to this years Draft; and has since died down with the rest of general NFL news over the summer. But thanks to Tony Dungy, the topic is coming back in full force & right before the start of training camp no less. But the general public are only focusing on one side of the story, putting all the attention on Michael Sam and his homosexuality and how it affects himself and the team. When in truth, there is another potential issue with Michael Sam that isn’t related to his sexuality. And that problem is his ability to be a legitimate NFL player.
It’s fascinating that Michael Sam has the potential, based off of his draft status, to be the NFL version of Jason Collins. An individual who will ultimately be known more for his sexuality preferences than his professional sport accomplishments. And after years of being a bench player in the NBA league, Collins leaves the game to get on Oprah’s “Master Class” show & also become one of TIME magazines “100 Most Influential People In The world.” Not for anything relevant that he accomplished in the NBA league; but simply for being open about who he is. And if that ends up being Michel Sam’s destiny of following in Jason Collins footsteps, both as a symbol for the LGBT community and professionally as an athlete, then God bless him and America.Now just to make it clear, we don’t have any issues with either individual. However we do want people to be aware that playing a sport & having success at it ultimately has nothing to do with one’s personal life off the field, but what one is capable of doing on the field. After all…..Michael Sam is not trying to be an advocate for LGBT & gay rights (at least not at this particular moment.) He’s trying to become a viable 4-3 defensive end (or a “pass rush specialist”) for the St. Louis Rams. And the harsh reality is that Michael Sam (just like Jason Collins) may not ever be relevant in the NFL as a player because of a lack of important qualities any athlete must need to succeed in the “Big Boy Leagues.” (Remember he was the 249th pick in the NFL draft.)
To put it in layman’s terms, Michael Sam is too small to play defensive line & he’s not athletic enough to successfully play Linebacker. Michael Sam can certainly perfect his technique & gain weight to hold the point of attack in the trenches; he can also become one of the hardest workers on his team. But even if all those things happen, there’s a serious possibility that his physical limitations can prevent him from sustaining a career in the NFL. To get a general gist of what kind of prospect Michael Sam was coming out of college, breeze through this scouting report and just look at how many strengths Sam has as opposed to weaknesses.
Now, given how big of a national story this is, it is highly unlikely that Jeff Fisher (head coach of the St. Louis Ram) will want to deal with the PR nightmare of releasing Michael Sam this season. Even if Michel Sam seems over matched by his peers in training camp, they will most likely find a place for him either on special teams or the practice squad. Once the regular season starts the only thing people will care about is who is winning football games. Who knows, maybe Sam defeats the odds and manages to crack the defensive line rotation filled with former first round picks. But whatever happens with Michael Sam this season or for the rest of his NFL career,his level of success in the NFL (or lack thereof) will ultimately come down to how good he is as a football player. Despite the media and fans who want to turn this into something it is not, Tony Dungy expressed his 1st Amendment and though some may not have agreed, as a past coach Dungy has more expertise than most when it comes to knowing how a football team can be affected by “off-field issues”. However, the bigger issue at hand is for people to understand that if Michael Sam doesn’t play this season, it isn’t because of his sexual orientation, but rather his lack of skill on the football field.
– JRC
Product Of Society 