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<p>I agree. I don’t know about the NFL but I have been in NHL locker rooms and guys aren’t showering together in the way that everyone did in high schools back in the 60s.</p>
<p>It’s no different than when you go to the gym now, and shower afterwards. Do people honestly think that there aren’t homosexuals at every gym across the country? </p>
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<p>Some people prefer a same gender physician of similar age, since such a physician may be more likely to have personal experience with something that the patient may be asking about. E.g. a female physician is more likely to have personal experience with pregnancy, while a male physician is more likely to have personal experience with prostate issues.</p>
<p>^It’s interesting that in the end a lot of our preferences (at least as doctors are concerned) come down to things that are not based on education/training/professional expertise, but personal/emotional “relatabililty.” Sort of goes against what everyone on this site seems to be pursuing–the best education from the best institutions, all toward the goal of the greatest possible success.</p>
<p>An openly gay boy in my area just became an Eagle Scout–apparently the first one. The apocalypse did not occur.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that, Hunt. It was good news when the BSA lifted their ban on gay scouts. Their discriminatory policy continues though on gay leaders. Baby steps, I suppose.</p>
<p>The adult policy will change, too. How are you going to tell a bunch of Eagle Scouts that they are unfit to be leaders? I suspect that a stepwise change was quietly planned.</p>
<p><a href=“NFL might not be ready for gay player: Giants’ Thomas”>http://nypost.com/2014/02/12/giants-thomas-nfl-might-not-be-set-to-accept-sam/</a></p>
<p>It seems to me that if Sam is drafted, any player on that team who doesn’t like it has an option to quit–there are plenty of other people who would like to play. And while I can understand that some players’ religious beliefs teach them that homosexual behavior is a sin, somehow they have been able to maintain their “brotherhood” with players who have committed lots and lots of other sins.</p>
<p>The Packers have been mentioned as a team with a strong, established head coach and strong GM and ownership that could draft Sam. Here’s an article on Mike McCarthy’s and an assistant’s take on it. It could just be lip service or not and if the Packers don’t draft him it could just be they didn’t have the need at that point in the draft but we’ll see.</p>
<p><a href=“Packers focus on Michael Sam's talent, not his sexuality”>http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-focus-on-michael-sams-talent-not-his-sexuality-b99202863z1-244820131.html</a></p>
<p>I found the comments on that article about the Packers refreshing–a lot of people saying they don’t care about his sexuality if he can help the team win.</p>
<p>Believe little of what you see in the New York Post.</p>
<p>I just don’t see what the big deal is. As others have mentioned, just because a man is gay doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily be attracted to his teammates. And if he is, I doubt he’d act on it unless invited. That’s how adults in workplace situations behave. Well, most. </p>
<p>Off topic: Upthread someone mentioned David Beckham and all the women posting following the Super Bowl commercial. If DB was nude in my gym I would DEFINITELY check him out :)</p>
<p>^It’s interesting that in the end a lot of our preferences (at least as doctors are concerned) come down to things that are not based on education/training/professional expertise, but personal/emotional “relatabililty.” </p>
<p>It’s “an all things equal” sort of preference. I tend to get a list of options, and then have to pick with no clear order. I’d call the female GYNs first, but I would not eliminate the males from the list just for gender. And if my neighbor or my son’s friends were on the list, I don’t think I’d want to use them either unless other options were less favorable to me. On the other hand for a critical, high risk procedure if someone were head and shoulder over the others and availability also became an issue, I would not hesitate. </p>
<p>I also prefer all female bathrooms if dorming, but doesn’t mean I’d eliminate situations where it was not an option.</p>
<p>There will always be those who will resist personally–I know a number of folks who would prefer to stay with folks of their own color and will demur if it’s not a big deal thing to them and wait for something more personally comfortable, and there is no helping that. It’s also their personal right.</p>
<p>As for the NFL prospect, if the lockerroom quiet talk is that it’s hurting morale and performance, he’ll be gone. A lot of these situations are handled quietly. If he turns out to be a gamechanger or superstar, that’s one thing, but otherwise, he may well have more of a load to carry to stay on a team than other players. </p>
<p>^^^ Because just being a good player isn’t enough??? Gamechangers or superstars get a category of their own in terms of respect? That’s sad commentary.</p>
<p>I would love for the Packers to get him if he is as good as they say.</p>
<p>I also find it ironic that a bunch of 18- to 22-year-old college players somehow managed to coexist with Sam’s gayness, but the big bad NFL players are so much more “vulnerable.” It’s laughable.</p>
<p>Manti Te’o is a complete wack job and his fake girlfriend controversy moved him from a likely first round draft pick to a second round pick. I suspect Sam will be drafted lower than he would otherwise be drafted but he will fit in the locker room much the way Manti Te’o seems to have fitted in to his locker room.</p>
<p>In the NHL, some locker rooms are already cracking down on anti-gay slurs, even before there is any out gay NHL player. </p>
<p><a href=“http://youcanplayproject.org/news/entry/the-nhl-makes-lgbt-history”>http://youcanplayproject.org/news/entry/the-nhl-makes-lgbt-history</a>
<a href=“http://www.rantsports.com/nhl/2012/03/04/video-new-nhl-commercial-you-can-play/”>http://www.rantsports.com/nhl/2012/03/04/video-new-nhl-commercial-you-can-play/</a></p>
<p>The NHL ads have big names in them. Brian Burke, now the Calgary Flames GM, is an old-school hockey guy from the old hyper-masculine line-brawl hockey days. His son came out as gay a year or so before he died in a car crash. You get the impression that if you uttered an anti-gay slur in front of Burke, he’d beat your face in.</p>
<p>Brian’s son, Patrick, started the You Can Play movement after Brendan’s death. When he was GM of the Leafs, Brian and other team officials and players marched in Toronto’s Pride parade. So many players from probably every NHL team have contributed to the cause, as have many other hockey leagues, and college hockey teams. It’s a wonderful organization and I’m proud of the sport for its work.</p>
<p>I’m proud of hockey too, alwaysamom. And you’re right: players from every NHL team have contributed to You Can Play. </p>
<p>In my Bay Area, members of all the local major-league teams got together to make a You Can Play ad.
<a href=“http://youcanplayproject.org/videos/entry/you-can-play-crisp-davis-reece-thompson-thornton-wondolowski-zito”>http://youcanplayproject.org/videos/entry/you-can-play-crisp-davis-reece-thompson-thornton-wondolowski-zito</a></p>
<p>I don’t know who the other players are, but Joe Thornton is not just a Shark. He is the captain of the Sharks. Team captains are important in hockey. If the captain says, “No gay slurs in our locker room,” he means it. I’m guessing there are gay NHL players who are out to their teammates.</p>
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<p>It is hard to know for sure, since we don’t have a convenient way of running an alternate reality to figure out who would draft him when in the alternate case.</p>
<p>In any case, it is probably preferable to him to be picked slightly later by a team with strong accepting leadership than to end up on a team where he may become the center of some drama like on the Dolphins this year.</p>