Sign the Beasts LVIII -- Anyone Have a Binky in the Veteran Combine?

AndyJohnson said:

So his 'statement' that his boyfriend, now husband, was watching the draft with him at his house is something that is wrong? Why?

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Because a Husband is a Man who is married to a Woman.

captain stone said:

Because a Husband is a Man who is married to a Woman.

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We get it you're a bigot too, can you guys go revel in your bigotry somewhere else? This started as a thread about people we liked in the Veteran Combine.

captain stone said:

Because a Husband is a Man who is married to a Woman.

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Its unfortunate that you dismiss an entire segment of society as not as good as you. Maybe one day you will actually interact with gay people and find out they are just people.

mgteich said:

You really don't understand the difference between a player coming out and discussing this with the media on one hand, and Clowney discussing his pass rushing ability on the other. Really?

If I must, one discussion is about football; the other is about the private life of a player.

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Of course they are different that is the point. Both attract this awful media attention that you seem to think is deadly. Please explain how one has a different effect than the other. I mean, really, you cannot honestly tell me that NFL teams frown on the media paying attention to their players.

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Yes, I said that Sam made the conscious decision to have the media focus on his sexuality for months.

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And you are wrong. Sam handle a potentially volatile situation the way he saw fit.
Unless you are saying that he is irresponsible to not hide his sexual preference then what exactly would you want him to do differently? He didn't seek the attention it sought him.

I suspect, given the marginal likelihood of him making lots of money as a football player, that he made a reasonable choice in coming out, and yes, having the media and organizations celebrate this step in the history of the NFL.

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This is where ignorance and bigotry rears up. He did not come out as a ploy, he came out because he chose to live his life like every straight person is allowed to do, without sneaking around and hiding who he is. You seem to feel he did harm to people by making them know about a gay guy playing football.
Sam had no control over what the media chose to do with this information. To state that he was 'celebrating his gayness' is offensive. He is simply living his life. Sorry that you have to be expose to those type of people.

Perhaps, Sam indeed chose what was best for him. He made money as he could, through interviews and endorsements. He will get lots more money and publicity for his appearance on Dancing With The Stars. I suspect that he will have a book deal in his future. And no, there is nothing wrong with this.

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Again, his being gay is not a publicity stunt, its who he is.

I speculated on whether Sam's strategy was reasonable. Of course, I was speaking with regard to a future as a football player.

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Strategy? Really?

Some seriously messed up posts in this thread.

Everyone on Sam's college team knew he was gay. It was going to come out. he chose to get ahead of the story. He didn't "choose" to share his sex life with everyone; he got ahead of what was going to be a huge story. To ignore that is to ignore reality.

It is a big deal - to many gay kids in high school, it's a huge deal.

I can imagine if nothing had been said, then the camera went to Sam's home when he got drafted and he kissed his boyfriend. A couple of folks here would have had a stroke, I expect.

I admit I was rooting for him. Still am. Took a lot of guts to do what he did, and he probably saved a few lives, too.

I clicked on the thread because I was interested in reading other people's opinion about some of the FA's that are still out there, only to find that the thread had devolved into something out of the PoFo.

Anywho, watching Michael Sam on "Dancing With The Stars" this week, I couldn't help but wonder why he would go on the show given that he is currently fighting for his football life. To me, it doesn't appear that he is one of those guys for whom "football is important" that BB is looking for...

He seems like a nice enough kid and I wish him well in both his career and personal life.

The big story to me about the veteran combine is the fact that the NFL, already on the road to being a laughing-stock appears to have screwed this up:

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/3/23/8275375/nfl-veteran-combine-40-times-michael-sam-michael-bush

The inaugural NFL Veteran Combine featured 107 former NFL players, includingBrady Quinn, Michael Sam and Felix Jones, all trying to impress scouts. But instead, much of the talk of the event revolved around ridiculously slow 40-yard dash times provided by the NFL.
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"They said I was a 4.6 or something, but I’ve been running 4.3s and 4.4s all through training," former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Carlton Mitchell said. "I think the lasers, I think it’s the first time they were using them. People that know me know that I’m not a 4.6 guy. When they told me that I said ‘What?’"

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What do people want for $40 million? A competently run organization? Dream on! Go Jets!

Michael Sam and Stryker Sulak. Both undersized DE/OLBs among the career sack leaders at Mizzou (Sulak at 22.5, Sam at 18.5). Sulak had a far better combine than Sam and was taken a round before Sam. Sulak was in camp with the Raiders and Packers in 2009 and cut quickly by both teams. Never to be heard from again. Sam and Sulak are just two of thousands who made some plays against college kids but are simply not NFL caliber athletes. Nothing to see here except some tinfoil hat wearing posters trying to make the banal into the fantastic.

I've really, really enjoyed the discussion about the NFL Veteran Combine and potential Patriots signees...

ausbacker said:

I've really, really enjoyed the discussion about the NFL Veteran Combine and potential Patriots signees...

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Everybody was fat and slow. Might as well discuss Sam, who was fat, slow, AND gay.

letekro said:

Everybody was fat and slow. Might as well discuss Sam, who was fat, slow, AND gay.

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I thought it was gay,












fat and slow.

More often than not, these online arguments are exercises in futility.

The Brandon Five said:

Anywho, watching Michael Sam on "Dancing With The Stars" this week, I couldn't help but wonder why he would go on the show given that he is currently fighting for his football life. To me, it doesn't appear that he is one of those guys for whom "football is important" that BB is looking for...

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Sure, except for the fact Chad Johnson was on Dancing with the Stars prior to Belichick trading for him.

primetime said:

Sure, except for the fact Chad Johnson was on Dancing with the Stars prior to Belichick trading for him.

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Chad Johnson at that point had actually had success in the NFL...Michael Sam? Not so much.

letekro said:

Everybody was fat and slow. Might as well discuss Sam, who was fat, slow, AND gay.

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Apparently the degree of slowness was (partly, if not mostly) due to a significant issue with how they were measuring times (see above).

Seriously at one point this thread was just about whom we liked at the combine. I don't see many people reveling in Felix Jones' poor 40 time

The Brandon Five said:

Apparently the degree of slowness was (partly, if not mostly) due to a significant issue with how they were measuring times (see above).

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How do you know there was a "significant issue"? Because the fat and slow guys claim they ran faster with their trainers holding the stopwatch? One guy complaining (carlton mitchell) ran a 4.49 at the 2010 combine and ran a 4.61 yesterday--5 years later. That sounds more reasonable than the 4.3s he was claiming.

AndyJohnson said:

As the father of a gay daughter, I find your choice of words ignorant, archaic and insulting.
I'll leave it at that.

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fair enough

I thought that Sam chose to give the media and various advocacy organizations an opportunity to "celebrate" this important step in sports history, and yes that sexual preference should no longer be relevant in choosing football players for the NFL. Over the years, many people in various professions have chosen to do the same. Ellen Degeneris stands out in my memory. As was the case in various civil rights situations that I have followed in the past 50 years, individuals sometimes choose when to come out to the media as a strategy to spotlight the issue of discrimination.

I cannot speak for your thinking that my choice of words was "ignorant, archaic and insulting". Your perceptions are your own. I don't find civil right advocacy and strategies used to be any of these things. You seem to think that Sam did not choose to have the media focus on this very important step in NFL history. I think that you are incorrect. However, there is no way for us to resolve this issue.

Boston Boxer said:

Sam. I find it really hard to believe that the player of the year in the SEC cant find a team interested in his skills. I'm not saying anything, i'm just sayin. I am an Auburn University fan and watch a ton of SEC football, and Sam was a great player. I hope he gets a shot

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I'll be honest.. I don't believe that teams want to deal with the media circus surrounding him.. Just like I believe that many teams didn't want to deal with the media circus around Tim Tebow..

meatface said:

tons of players have gotten tv shows or media appearances around the draft, I think its just trying to find justification for bigotry. Jackie Robinson had numerous interviews about being the first black player in the MLB before he even made the team, are you saying he created a media storm and the dodgers should have just cut him?

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I find it insulting that you compare the situation of Michael Sam to the situation of Jackie Robinson. They couldn't be more different. Jackie Robinson had already been playing ball in the Negro leagues and people knew of him. He was approached to join MLB. Robinson didn't go out and demand the media attention. He did interviews that were requested of him.. Nothing more.. Robinson didn't deals done with programs ahead of time without the consent of the team that he'd be joining..

The Dodgers created the media storm by bringing Jackie Robinson to the team.. Sam was bringing the media storm with him to the Rams.. Pretty distinct difference.

primetime said:

I'm rooting for Michael Sam. The weird thing about Sam is that right before the combine he was a 1st or 2nd round pick. His combine performance wasn't great, but most still had him as a mid-rounder, many as a 3rd rounder. Then he falls to the end of the 7th round and was probably only taken by fiat from Jeff Fisher (good for him) and is out of football within a year.

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If Sam had a 1st round grade, it was prior to his senior season. The highest I'd ever seen him listed was as a 3rd round pick.. His combine showing dropped him tremendously..

BTW, Ernest Shazor had a 1st round grade prior to the combine and was never even drafted..

primetime said:

Sure, but NFL executives told Sports Illustrated anonymously that he would fall in the draft because he came out, so it's not like there's not evidence this went on.

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Could you provide a link to this?