 |
| Michael Sam (52) |
"Is this a huge deal? I understand that it is, but my focus right now is playing football," Sam told the New York Times, to whom he first came out publicly, aside from his team, who knew the entire 2013/14 season. "I don't want to be defined as Michael Sam, the gay football player. I want to be defined, Michael Sam, for being a great person, and having great character."
There has been a lot of support for Sam, both in traditional, and social media. There has, however, been some negative reaction on social media, some of it pretty close to home for us Canadians.
*Sigh*...A couple days ago when I was just about to say it had been a while since a Winnipeg Blue Bomber made a fool of himself on Twitter, here comes Bryant Turner (@Blitz_Turner,) who tweeted "Michael Sam locker room gonna come with complimentary robes." The tweet was quickly deleted by Turner.
Then there's Arland Bruce III. Who's comments extend beyond a silly joke, which is not to excuse Turner, but this is worse.
“YOW! Mr/MSam you scared to rub on [expletive] and [expletive] and [expletive] you gaey. Man up and do some MFN push UPS and get on your knees and submit to God fully. Come out of her: Americas Trap. Lil homie don’t go thru with it it’s a trap bruh,” Bruce III posted on his Instagram account.
The CFL took quick action and fined both Turner and Bruce for their comments, and I commend them for that.
Oh, before I move on, quick shout out to the people saying that they simply "don't agree with his lifestyle." Listen to how that sounds... as a pal of mine - who's name is Breanne Lucky, and I was going to link to her blog but I can't find it - would say, IS THAT EVEN A THING? Nobody says that they disagree with the straight lifestyle, or the single lifestyle, or any other types of lifestyle, because you can't disagree with a lifestyle, it's not an opinion. That'd be like me saying "well, he's nice and all, but I disagree with red hair." Listen to how dumb that sounds, you can't disagree with someone's genetic trait.
But I digress, I'm not writing this post to condemn these two men. Though they may deserve to be condemned, they don't deserve our time and energy. Comments like these don't deserve the light of day, let alone news coverage, but that's the unfortunate world we live in. I'd love to COMPLETELY leave these two comments alone, but I can't, until bull-shit like this is out of sports.
This situation also points out the fact that there's still some educating to do when it comes to teaching athletes what's right to do, what's harmful to say, even as a joke, and what's just plain stupid. Education on those topics may become more urgent with Sam coming out.
There has, however, been an out wave of support for Sam. Just check out Patrick Burke's (@BurkieYCP) Twitter timeline, and all of his re-tweets. If I was a betting man, I'd venture a guess that 97 per cent of the sports world is totally behind Michael Sam, if I'm feeling lucky - which I am - I'd go up to 99 per cent.
Once drafted in the NFL - which he's expected to go in the early rounds - Sam will be the first active, gay professional football player, and he has the best mindset that one can have in this situation. It's the mindset that we as viewers should adopt. Knowing that this is a big deal, of course, but realizing that he wants to be treated first and foremost, the same as any other football player. The hope is that one day, being a gay athlete won't be an anomaly, it will be something that's accepted, and considered "normal."
Here's a collection of positive tweets I found about Michael Sam's coming out of the closet that just made me feel down right good about humanity. Good luck, Michael, in your future life, and your future NFL career.
Bill McGillis @SouthernMissAD
Leaving a legacy! Thank you @MikeSamFootball (Michael Sam) for paving the way for so many others who will follow. #free
Extremely proud of @mikesamfootball 4 handling business on his own terms. Best of luck in May's NFL draft! #JustBeU
I applaud Missouri DE @MichaelSamfootball for his bravery & honesty about who he is. I pray he gets a opportunity 2 play the game he loves!Michael Sam isn't the 1st gay player in the NFL although he is the 1st 2 come out.#realtalk Let's show him love like a family member. Truth
One great aspect of @MikeSamFootball story is that his teammates knew all along, supported him and won. That is message of @YouCanPlayTeam.
We support Tigers of all stripes at Mizzou. Proud of you @MikeSamFootball! #OneMizzou http://ow.ly/trK67 pic.twitter.com/DvJ2vTIbgU |
| The picture tweeted by Missouri University |
No comments:
Post a Comment