NFL Changing with Time?

If you were watching the NFL Draft this past weekend then you are aware of all the new editions to the teams. One team in particular that made headlines was the St. Louis Rams. The St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round. If you’re not a fan of football your first reaction to this would be “who cares”. If you, like myself are a fan of sports and/or your favorite team is the St. Louis Rams (GO FALCOLNS!) then this news would be of importance to you. The deal with Michael Sam is that he became the first openly gay professional football player. Many people have had their own personal opinions about him coming out and how it would change the nature of what is said to be a “manly” game. Now I have a few issues with this. Is he any less of a man just because he’s gay? Or is it the fact that he’s openly gay in what is seen as a straight sport?

Miami Dolphins player Don Jones had a lot to say on his twitter account about Michael Sam’s showing of emotion i.e. kissing his boyfriend. Jones tweeted out “omg” after the kiss was shown and then replied “horrible” to a follower asking if he was referring to the kiss. Jones was later fined an undisclosed amount of money and barred from team activities until he finishes “training for his recent comments made on social media.” Other players such as former NFL player Derrick Ward showed their dismay towards ESPN for showing Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend. The bigger question is, was the punishment too harsh for Jones? Or because he represents the team as a whole he should be held to a higher standard?

Times are changing and unfortunately whether people like it or not they have to either make that change or stay in the past. The LGBT community is growing and will soon continue to emerge into these sports that are deemed as "straight" sports. I commend players such as Michael Sam and Jason Collins for being bold enough to step out and say that they are gay. Even though we may have religious or personal beliefs that go against what the LGBT community stands for at the end of the day we are all human beings and should be treated as such.

Britt Daise

Urban Echelon Magazine & Blogspot

Twitter: thisisbee