Guest feature: Michael Sam and the changing colors of sports by Alex Hinz
“Tim Tebow in Denver was arguably a bigger distraction than Michael Sam will be. Those NFL execs arguing that they do not want an openly gay player on their team because of the “distraction” are, just as Chris Kluwe said on Monday, dancing around their own intolerance”
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Forever Linked
A rainbow: a color spectrum that has become synonymous with the homosexual community, its purpose to represent the diversity they support. Sports: the single most entertaining and polarizing industry in the United States. The question: what do these have in common? How can these two link together? The answer: they are already linked, whether you or I want to admit it or recognize it. The same colors of the rainbow that represent diversity to the homosexual community make up each and every uniform in professional sports.
The Rise of Gay Culture in Sports
The recent announcement by the University of Missouri’s Michael Sam that he is gay came as no surprise to me. I had been anticipating this moment for the last couple years. This announcement should not have caught anyone off guard. Weekly, we read news stories that this state or that state has passed a gay rights law or is embroiled in a legal battle over the issue.
The coming-out announcement of the NBA’s Jason Collins last year, although exciting, should have been and was just the tip of the iceberg. The rise of the homosexual community has been coming on for years, and you were blind if you didn’t see it coming. A recent New York Times article estimated that 5% of American men are gay; it would be almost statistically impossible that of the nearly 4,000 athletes participating at the highest level of the four major professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL), none were gay men. A safe estimate that maybe only 1% of professional athletes are homosexual means that there is still the possibility almost 50 more. Being gay is not a choice, being an athlete is, but the choice to be an athlete should have nothing to do with a person’s inherent sexuality.
The fact is that homosexuality has become part of our country, and thus part of our sports. This is not a fad, or a trend; this is a progression of American civil rights. We are guaranteed but three things in this country: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and none of them are conditioned on what you look like, how you talk, or your sexuality. If you are gay, you have a right just as any other athlete to participate in professional sports, and to chase the dream every other athlete is chasing.
The Double Standard of Distractions and Locker Room Culture
After Michael Sam announced his coming out to the world Sunday evening, there was both an outpouring of support and criticism. The most shocking criticism to me is from those that think this will be a distraction in the locker room. It seems to me that there are much more distracting things in a locker room than someone’s sexuality. It seems to me that Josh Brent driving under the influence, crashing his vehicle, and killing his teammate is a much bigger distraction. It seems to me that Richard Sherman’s tirade after the NFC championship game was a much bigger distraction.
It seems to me that Alex Rodriguez’s steroid fiasco is a much bigger locker room distraction. An athlete’s sexual orientation is not a distraction, even when it is different from the majority of the teams. Tim Tebow in Denver was arguably a bigger distraction than Michael Sam will be. Those NFL execs arguing that they do not want an openly gay player on their team because of the “distraction” are, just as Chris Kluwe said on Monday, dancing around their own intolerance.
I have spent a lot of time in locker rooms; I have been on very good teams, and I have been on teams that barely won a game. Typically, the driving factor in wins and losses was not talent, but chemistry. The 2007 Rockies, the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, and any year’s Tampa Bay Rays are examples of how important chemistry is to a team. Today I engaged in a twitter feud with a college baseball player, and he told me that he wouldn’t accept a gay player on his team because it would ruin the chemistry of a team. My response is that he must not have watched the University of Missouri football team this year.
To recap their season, they were motivated by a stout defense, and a strong running game. They attempted to run the table in the SEC, the nation’s best conference, and took only one regular season loss to Georgia. They advanced to the SEC championship game, played strongly in a loss to Auburn, and then capped the season off with a good thrashing of Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. The one thing none of us knew while this was all going on is that Michael Sam’s teammates already knew of his sexuality. They knew all the way back in August. There are those who think that Sam’s teammates and coaches have known during his entire career at Mizzou. Guess what? It didn’t matter. Missouri had arguably their best season in history.
It was refreshing this afternoon to come across the comments of several other athletes and execs involved in sports expressing support of Michael Sam.
Malcolm Smith, the MVP of the Super Bowl, tweeted out that, “There is no room for bigotry in American sports. It takes courage to change the culture.” DeAngelo Williams stated, “I could careless about a man’s sexual preference! I care about winning games and being respectful in the locker room”. Perhaps, my favorite comment of the day came from local hometown hero John Elway. While he first applauded Michael Sam, the strongest part of his comment came when he said, “As we look toward the combine and draft, we will evaluate Michael just like any other draft prospect… on the basis of his ability, character and NFL potential. His announcement will have no effect on how we see him as a football player.” This comment resonated with me throughout the rest of the day. It simply doesn’t matter to number 7 if Michael Sam is gay.
If Sam can help the Denver Broncos pass rush, and they like him as a person, then maybe he will wear the orange and blue. The fact is it doesn’t matter. Michael Sam is not anymore a distraction to the locker room than Jackie Robinson was. It should be mentioned that in the same year that Jackie broke the color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, they also won the National League Pennant; it seems to me that locker room chemistry was strong.
What The Future Holds
It is no longer a secret, Michael Sam is now out, and this decision will be debated all the way up to the first week of May. And then it will be debated some more.
What won’t be debated is that Michael Sam is going to be in the NFL, and he has the opportunity to become a dynamic pass rushing defensive end or linebacker. Where do I think he will end up and where do I think he will be picked? Those are the fun questions.
In past weeks, I like many others thought he would be maybe a third to fourth round pick. Now, I think he falls, but I don’t think he falls because of the NFL’s view on homosexuality as a whole. I think he falls because of a few bigots, and because of the NFL is a business. Of course, there will be teams that pass on him because they can’t put their discriminatory interests behind them, but there will also be teams that see they can let him fall a bit as others pass on him, allowing them to get him cheaper and later while first addressing other needs.
I now think Michael Sam will be selected somewhere between the late 4th and 6th round. The other question is where will he land?
The team that selects Michael Sam will be a team with an already strong locker room with strong leadership from players, coaches, and ownership. Let’s not forget that owner Branch Rickey has always been remembered for his choice to have Jackie break the barrier, as was his team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was a strong-minded man who did not care about what a person looked like, but instead cared about the kind of man and player he was. Rickey wanted to win games. I believe that the controversial locker room of the Miami Dolphins is out, and I think the same can be said for teams that finished near the bottom of the barrel, or those with new coaches. Where then does he land? I have narrowed it to nine teams in no particular order: New England, Denver, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Seattle, San Francisco, Baltimore, New York Giants, and the New York Jets… Yes, the Jets, because Rex Ryan takes care of his players, he is known as the ultimate players coach, and let’s be honest, it’s the Jets.
The End
Predicting the future of Michael Sam is really impossible. What is known is that he will prepare for the NFL like any other prospect, he will be picked, and his career will begin. He may succeed, and he may fail, but he will never be forgotten for breaking a new kind of color barrier. He has brought the rainbow to the NFL, and embodies the diversity that the NFL has claimed to embrace. The league is represented by many ethnicities, religions, and now, sexualities. The path has been paved, and I for one am excited to see others follow Michael Sam’s lead. For those who think that homosexuals have no place in the locker room, I pray for you. Apparently, the rest of the world is about to move on without you; either hurry and get on or, seriously, get off. The color of sports is changing again, this time not black or white, but this time to represent the colors that every team are made up of: red, orange, blue, green, purple etc… and lets not forget at the end of every rainbow, is a pot of gold.
Good luck to you, Mr. Sam. You have got yourself a fan in me. And, to each and every athlete that will follow suit, I root for you as well, not just athletically, but so that you may feel free to express yourself in anyway you choose. To those athletes I know on a personal level, I hope you reach the peace and comfort to make the decisions you deem best in your sexuality, and your future.
My name is Alex Hinz, I am a white, straight, male, Christian, who grew up in the southern suburbs of Denver. Currently, I am a law student at the University of Denver and am studying sports law. I have spent a lot of time around athletes, played college baseball, engaged with professional athletes, and other industry professionals. The views expressed in this post are mine alone and not representative of any organization or entity I may be a part of. I appreciate South Stands Denver for providing me this platform to share my opinions. You may email me comments at alex_hinz@q.com or follow me on twitter @ahinz29 .
