The staged spectacle of it all is annoying.

I'd have a lot of respect for the dude if he came out to his Mizzou teammates, makes news obviously (not under his control), and then leave it at that and go about your business like you have before coming out.

Not do national interviews and allowing cameras into your home so you can kiss your boyfriend when your name is called in the most staged scene ever.

His national interview when he said, "I'm a college graduate, I'm African American, and I'm gay." Can you get anymore eye rolling cliche than that?

Amazing ESPN allowed this on their airwaves with how many kids watch the draft.

What do kids have to do with anything?

Some kiss, makes me want to touch myself in weird places. People in general must be backwards hicks to make something as inconsequential newsworthy. Move on and play the game, most intelligent people could care less who you love or **** on your down time. I want to know if this undersized DE is big and strong enough to penetrate an NFL O line effectively, not his bf.

SM2 isn't just racist, he's homophobic too?!? Call the news stations, nobody saw this coming!!!

Lol they showed footage of just about every player getting the call when they were drafted. Yes they spent more air time on Michael Sam, but complaining about him having a camera in his house and Espn showing it is ridiculous. Did you even watch the draft?

I'll bet you do.

In fact, John Oliver's HBO show just did a segment tonight on how ESPN explicitly avoided talking about him being gay. He hailed it as a breakthrough that they talked about him using the exact same boring platitudes ("the hopes and dreams of him and his family being realized") that they use for every straight athlete on the planet.

Ya watching their coverage I wouldn't have even known he was gay unless I had heard about it elsewhere

Actually didn't watch one second of the draft this year, except for when I heard Ka'deem Carey got drafted by the Bears, and turned it on real quick.

So, there were cameras or a video feed showing almost every player drafted and their reaction in all 7 rounds???

Because usually past the 1st round it was just Kiper, Berman Keyshawn, Jackson, and whoever else analyzing all sorts of players and during air time of the draft and then there would just be a ticker showing the name of the player selected in the middle to late rounds, and then analyze almost every player drafted when they get around to it for a few seconds..

If they changed the format then fine, whatever. Or if Michael Sam was a top 10 draft choice who was there at the theater with his family and his boyfriend and got to go up to shake Goodel's hand then cool hug your family and kiss your boyfriend real quick, then that's fine.

I'm glad we have confirmed racist and homophobe Silver_Man2 to decide for America what is and isn't appropriate in terms of television coverage for prospects in the NFL draft.

Not that big of a deal iyam.

Like I said above, if there was a live feed into almost every player's reaction from 3rd to 7th round then I am 100% fine with the coverage. Can someone confirm this for me?

I think it is lame for Sam to do this though. We get it, you are gay, I don't think most people care, nor do I. But to make a spectacle of it is just an attempt to garner more attention for yourself is so douchey.

Also, like I said, I would totally have respect for the guy if he comes out and then just leaves it like that. And then be a football player. Fielding phone calls from the president, doing interviews saying cliche things, making sure America sees you kissing your boyfriend. Just so dramatized, fake, and annoying.

Another day, another loss for the bad guy bigots.

Was a good thing for the league and Sam is a very courageous guy. I wish him luck.

If you have a problem with him kissing his boyfriend you are a bigot and a homophobe. Cut and dry.

He can kiss his boyfriend all he wants - but does it really need to be done on TV?

Did you have a problem with the 75 other draftees that kissed their girlfriend/wife? It's patently non offensive and he is under no obligation to cater to others bigotry.

We gotta do this in baby steps.

-2014, NFL player who is openly gay: <gulp> ok, np
-Five years later: gay player on TV w/ boyfriend but no physical contact
-Five years later: gay player on TV kissing boyfriend

He's sprung this on us ~10 years too early.

Why exactly do we have to do this in baby steps? Most people are fine with Michael Sam and he is under no obligation to cater to bigots.

You lose me here.

How is this good or bad for the league??? It is a league where guys play football and fans watch it because they like watching football. So please tell me how this is good for or betters the league?

What would be good for the league is if they didn't give every advantage to the offense. A guy who likes dudes is good for the league though? Explain please...

Silverman you've yet to answer why this is a factor. It's always entertaining how guys like you always let it slip through in the end, like for your whole post you're pretending that you only have a problem with how cliche the whole thing is, and whoops you let the facade come crashing down when you reveal that you think it's more of a problem for children to see gay couples kissing than straight couples.

This, he gets drafted, some idiot can't help himself from complaining about it on twitter and gets fined/suspended. Good news all round

Hahahaha SILVERMANNNNNNNNNN

It's like he thinks Sam called ESPN and begged them to put a camera in his home! ESPN had no interest of their own in doing so, just a flamboyant gay man whoring for attention. Never stop being this forum's poster idiot for backwards bigotry, SM2 (because the original SM got permabanned).

Hahaha oh man I wrote the above post before finishing SM2's gem. Again, you think he asked ESPN to put the camera in his home and not the other way around? And you think the moment with his boyfriend was fake and dramatized, like in addition to being an NFL-worthy football player he's also an Oscar-quality actor?

Apparently to SM2, Michael Sam is The Most Interesting Man In The World. And SM2 is the Most Uninteresting Bigot On Two Plus Two.

I'm fine with Michael Sam too. I'm just not fine with watching sportscenter and in between LeBron and KD dunking on people I have to see two dudes making out. I have special time allotted for my gay porn and i prefer to keep it confined to that time only.

^ a perfect example of how Michael Sam is helping the bigots of yesteryear get forcefully introduced to today's world.

This thread is illustrating perfectly what a big step this is.

Yeah, so? Sam could have said no to the cameras.

TBH, I'm rooting for him as a PLAYER. He was co-defensive player of the year in the best conference in America, but at the same time he isn't that big or fast, and was as good as he was because of his motor, relentlessness, and heart, moreso than raw talent or athleticism.

So, I am interested in seeing how he makes it as a player being as good as he was in college, but really only being a 5th round prospect. Almost Tim Tebow-esque type situation on being a football player exclusively. If he makes it on his ability that would be cool in of itself. You guys will think it is cool because he is gay.