NFL spokespeople: Michael Sam’s NFL Draft Stock Will Drop After Announcing He Is Gay [View all]

[kpete]

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2014, 10:53 AM - Edit history (2)

Report: Michael Sam’s NFL Draft Stock Will Drop After Announcing He Is Gay

Sam, a University of Missouri defensive end who came out on Sunday night, will drop in the draft, according to Sports Illustrated. The magazine spoke to eight NFL executives, all of whom said Sam’s announcement will drop him in May’s draft.

“I don’t think football is ready for (an openly gay player) just yet,” an NFL player personnel assistant told Sports Illustrated. “In the coming decade or two, it’s going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it’s still a man’s-man game. To call somebody a (gay slur) is still so commonplace. It’d chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.”

...........

Sam already wasn’t going to be a first-round pick, despite his gaudy stats in the talented SEC. Now, he’s expected to drop even further than his initial projection.

“I just know with this going on this is going to drop him down,”an NFL scout told Sports Illustrated. “There’s no question about it. It’s human nature. Do you want to be the team to quote-unquote ‘break that barrier?’”


http://nesn.com/2014/02/report-michael-sams-nfl-draft-stock-will-drop-after-announcing-he-is-gay/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/10/1276445/-NFL-spokespeople-admit-publicly-the-NFL-will-pay-Sam-LESS-for-being-Gay


***********

UPDATE TO ADD:

Very brave and macho.

But while initial reaction from players has been almost universally welcoming, the executives who will actual making decisions on drafting Sam have been disappointingly retrograde. Sports Illustrated has two separate articles speaking with 12 different NFL GMs, coaches, and scouts, and to a man, they say that being gay will either hurt Sam's draft stock, or cause him to not be drafted at all.

Also to a man, they refuse to put their names behind their comments.

http://deadspin.com/nfl-executives-say-the-league-isnt-ready-for-michael-s-1519784781?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow