Yes (Score: 2, Informative) by evilss@pipedot.org on 2014-05-11 20:57 (#1GY) He was drafted by the Rams. Yesterday. Re: Yes (Score: 3, Interesting) by marqueeblink@pipedot.org on 2014-05-12 01:01 (#1H0) The other owners owe the Rams big time. The NFL would've looked plenty bad if Sam had gone undrafted.Sam was rated as a 4th to 6th round talent (the draft has 7 rounds). In the past, players who had won the award that Sam got (SEC defensive player of the year) have usually been drafted within the first two rounds, but strangely enough, many of them haven't been particularly successful in the NFL - that factored into the '4th to 6th round' projection, along with the fact that Sam is not considered to be a prototypical NFL defensive lineman or linebacker in terms of size, speed, atheleticism, etc.Still, had he not come out he probably would've been drafted by some team before the 7th round. Why was he not? Because football squads are large, and there's a certain macho mindset that can't be completely controlled, just as in the military which struggles with gay and sexual harassment/assault issues. If the entire coaching staff and 95 percent of the players were fine with having a gay teammate, that 5 percent could still create plenty of trouble that could detract from the team's effort to make the playoffs and then win a championship. And what if Sam turns out to be a bit of a diva, giving interviews in the press about the problems that gays face in football and society? That was too much of a risk for every team in the league except one. Re: Yes (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-12 12:26 (#1H5) /*And what if Sam turns out to be a bit of a diva, giving interviews in the press about the problems that gays face in football and society?*/How about we stick to interviewing him about his football plays and the game? I don't see the media mentioning sexual orientation when they interview straight players. Nobody straight gets asked if they feel comfortable getting changed or showering in front of 40 other dudes whose testosterone levels are off the charts.If gays wanted true equality, they'd put a stop to any questioning that brings up their sexuality. They would want to be treated the same way as straight people, by being judged by their merits alone, without sexual orientation clouding said judgement. Instead, most keep the gay card visible when they are judged on their skills or merits, so they can scream "discrimination!" when things don't go their way.So let's stick to judging Sam's football abilities. How fast can he run 40 yards? How many tackles did he have? How many fumble recoveries? Pick a bunch of stats, compare them to the his team or the NFL average, and you'll get a true measure of a player. Leave the sexual orientation out of it. Re: Yes (Score: 1) by fatphil@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 18:21 (#1JM) The problem is that nowadays TV sports reporting (such as I know it, which is a whisker-thin slice - basically only Formula 1) seems to be more concerned about how people *feel* about their victory or second place, and not about the technical aspects of the event itself. They don't want sport for sportos/stattos/fans - they want sport dumbed-down and emotived-up for the huge bottom layer of the pyramid. Blame marketeers. (And you may read into that sentence the obligatory Hicksian "... who should kill themselves".)So gays have no hope in that jungle. It's going to be "did you carry an extra pack of pink frilly hankies with you, in case a hard tackle made you cry?" all the freaking way, at least on some channels, and it's going to suck for *everyone*.This is one reason I like sports "personalities" like Kimi Raikkonen (on a keyboard with no diacriticals, pretend they're there, please). If someone asks a stupid question, he'll give the shortest dismissive answer which almost always makes the interview look stupid. And of course, Kimi was a big fan of James Hunt who had his moments too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjSvfgA6tk
Re: Yes (Score: 3, Interesting) by marqueeblink@pipedot.org on 2014-05-12 01:01 (#1H0) The other owners owe the Rams big time. The NFL would've looked plenty bad if Sam had gone undrafted.Sam was rated as a 4th to 6th round talent (the draft has 7 rounds). In the past, players who had won the award that Sam got (SEC defensive player of the year) have usually been drafted within the first two rounds, but strangely enough, many of them haven't been particularly successful in the NFL - that factored into the '4th to 6th round' projection, along with the fact that Sam is not considered to be a prototypical NFL defensive lineman or linebacker in terms of size, speed, atheleticism, etc.Still, had he not come out he probably would've been drafted by some team before the 7th round. Why was he not? Because football squads are large, and there's a certain macho mindset that can't be completely controlled, just as in the military which struggles with gay and sexual harassment/assault issues. If the entire coaching staff and 95 percent of the players were fine with having a gay teammate, that 5 percent could still create plenty of trouble that could detract from the team's effort to make the playoffs and then win a championship. And what if Sam turns out to be a bit of a diva, giving interviews in the press about the problems that gays face in football and society? That was too much of a risk for every team in the league except one. Re: Yes (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-12 12:26 (#1H5) /*And what if Sam turns out to be a bit of a diva, giving interviews in the press about the problems that gays face in football and society?*/How about we stick to interviewing him about his football plays and the game? I don't see the media mentioning sexual orientation when they interview straight players. Nobody straight gets asked if they feel comfortable getting changed or showering in front of 40 other dudes whose testosterone levels are off the charts.If gays wanted true equality, they'd put a stop to any questioning that brings up their sexuality. They would want to be treated the same way as straight people, by being judged by their merits alone, without sexual orientation clouding said judgement. Instead, most keep the gay card visible when they are judged on their skills or merits, so they can scream "discrimination!" when things don't go their way.So let's stick to judging Sam's football abilities. How fast can he run 40 yards? How many tackles did he have? How many fumble recoveries? Pick a bunch of stats, compare them to the his team or the NFL average, and you'll get a true measure of a player. Leave the sexual orientation out of it. Re: Yes (Score: 1) by fatphil@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 18:21 (#1JM) The problem is that nowadays TV sports reporting (such as I know it, which is a whisker-thin slice - basically only Formula 1) seems to be more concerned about how people *feel* about their victory or second place, and not about the technical aspects of the event itself. They don't want sport for sportos/stattos/fans - they want sport dumbed-down and emotived-up for the huge bottom layer of the pyramid. Blame marketeers. (And you may read into that sentence the obligatory Hicksian "... who should kill themselves".)So gays have no hope in that jungle. It's going to be "did you carry an extra pack of pink frilly hankies with you, in case a hard tackle made you cry?" all the freaking way, at least on some channels, and it's going to suck for *everyone*.This is one reason I like sports "personalities" like Kimi Raikkonen (on a keyboard with no diacriticals, pretend they're there, please). If someone asks a stupid question, he'll give the shortest dismissive answer which almost always makes the interview look stupid. And of course, Kimi was a big fan of James Hunt who had his moments too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjSvfgA6tk
Re: Yes (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-12 12:26 (#1H5) /*And what if Sam turns out to be a bit of a diva, giving interviews in the press about the problems that gays face in football and society?*/How about we stick to interviewing him about his football plays and the game? I don't see the media mentioning sexual orientation when they interview straight players. Nobody straight gets asked if they feel comfortable getting changed or showering in front of 40 other dudes whose testosterone levels are off the charts.If gays wanted true equality, they'd put a stop to any questioning that brings up their sexuality. They would want to be treated the same way as straight people, by being judged by their merits alone, without sexual orientation clouding said judgement. Instead, most keep the gay card visible when they are judged on their skills or merits, so they can scream "discrimination!" when things don't go their way.So let's stick to judging Sam's football abilities. How fast can he run 40 yards? How many tackles did he have? How many fumble recoveries? Pick a bunch of stats, compare them to the his team or the NFL average, and you'll get a true measure of a player. Leave the sexual orientation out of it. Re: Yes (Score: 1) by fatphil@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 18:21 (#1JM) The problem is that nowadays TV sports reporting (such as I know it, which is a whisker-thin slice - basically only Formula 1) seems to be more concerned about how people *feel* about their victory or second place, and not about the technical aspects of the event itself. They don't want sport for sportos/stattos/fans - they want sport dumbed-down and emotived-up for the huge bottom layer of the pyramid. Blame marketeers. (And you may read into that sentence the obligatory Hicksian "... who should kill themselves".)So gays have no hope in that jungle. It's going to be "did you carry an extra pack of pink frilly hankies with you, in case a hard tackle made you cry?" all the freaking way, at least on some channels, and it's going to suck for *everyone*.This is one reason I like sports "personalities" like Kimi Raikkonen (on a keyboard with no diacriticals, pretend they're there, please). If someone asks a stupid question, he'll give the shortest dismissive answer which almost always makes the interview look stupid. And of course, Kimi was a big fan of James Hunt who had his moments too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjSvfgA6tk
Re: Yes (Score: 1) by fatphil@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 18:21 (#1JM) The problem is that nowadays TV sports reporting (such as I know it, which is a whisker-thin slice - basically only Formula 1) seems to be more concerned about how people *feel* about their victory or second place, and not about the technical aspects of the event itself. They don't want sport for sportos/stattos/fans - they want sport dumbed-down and emotived-up for the huge bottom layer of the pyramid. Blame marketeers. (And you may read into that sentence the obligatory Hicksian "... who should kill themselves".)So gays have no hope in that jungle. It's going to be "did you carry an extra pack of pink frilly hankies with you, in case a hard tackle made you cry?" all the freaking way, at least on some channels, and it's going to suck for *everyone*.This is one reason I like sports "personalities" like Kimi Raikkonen (on a keyboard with no diacriticals, pretend they're there, please). If someone asks a stupid question, he'll give the shortest dismissive answer which almost always makes the interview look stupid. And of course, Kimi was a big fan of James Hunt who had his moments too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjSvfgA6tk