<p>tom1944, you click on the gear thing at the right top of your post to edit. It shows up when you move the cursor over your post.</p>
<p>I think I read that Michael Sam said he was out to his college teammates and it was inevitable that someone would spill the beans about his sexuality, so he decided to disclose it in advance of the draft.</p>
<p>There is no foolproof way to predict the transition of ANY player from college to pro sports. The rosters of countless teams contain both players who have surpassed expectations and those who haven’t lived up to the hype.</p>
<p>Defending Michael Sam’s shot at success in the NFL has nothing to do with “willful blindness.” You can bet thousands of Mizzou fans and numerous coaches (not to mention those from his high-school years) who have watched him play over the years are confident he will make the next transition well. Missouri is hardly a liberal bastion. The people who have earned his respect are not suddenly abandoning their support for him now that they know something about his personal life that has nothing to do with what he does on the field.</p>
<p>Speaking of good records–the major court decisions regarding gay marriage are falling 100% on the side of equality.</p>
<p><a href=“Virginia’s gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional: A perfect record for equality post-Windsor.”>http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/02/virginia_s_gay_marriage_ban_ruled_unconstitutional_a_perfect_record_for.html</a> </p>
<p>Enjoyed seeing Dale Hansen on Ellen. He seem kind of starstruck, lol.</p>
<p>Dale is known in Dallas for telling it like it is, though this often ruffles some feathers.</p>
<p>I must not have been clear. I am not qualified to evaluate the likelihood that Michael Sam will be good enough to make an NFL team. Based on what I have read, my sense is that he is a “maybe”. My point was that a team that drafts him and then decides that he is not good enough for purely football reasons will be in a tough spot public relations-wise. Even if the decision to cut him was in fact without regard to his sexual orientation, strong supporters of gay rights will not believe it and the mainstream media will feed the controversy.</p>
<p>I thought you were perfectly clear EMM. And it’s true: from what I’ve heard Sam is not a sure thing; that’s why he was projected in the third round even before he came out. Normally if a team cuts a third-rounder, eh, these things happen, third-rounders are projects anyway. But if a team discovers Sam is just not big enough for the NHL for his position, they will face all sorts of protests when they cut him, from people who don’t realize that third-rounders get cut sometimes.</p>
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<p>That could be a worse problem if he did not go public but the there were plenty of rumors and speculations running around the NFL community, eventually to reach the media.</p>
<p>Successful teams generally do not cut their 3rd round picks. If your third round pick can not make your team your scouts are not very good. For that reason unless a third round pick is a complete bust they make the roster.</p>
<p>Tom, you’re joking, right? You must have meant to say that teams generally don’t cut their 3rd round picks in training camp or in the first year. Sure they do. Remember, there’s no guaranteed contracts in the NFL. Yeah, the bonus money and the rookie scale salaries are an investment that no team wants to squander. If Sam is a bust, he could well hang on for a season or two. But the the roads to a last place finish in the NFL are littered with unsuccessful 3rd round draft picks.</p>
<p>As for the prowess of NFL scouts, they are not diamond appraisers. Most of them strictly follow their own scheme or strategy, much of it poor. Ever hear of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns or the Detroit Lions? If Sam is lucky he’ll land on a team with a proven record of developing players, chosen from the first round to the last; teams like the Steelers, Packers, the Giants and the latest sensation, Pete Carroll’s Seahawks.</p>
<p>How many 2013 third round picks made either the roster or the practice squad last year? I am not saying they have long careers but most 3rd round picks make the squad in some fashion the year they are drafted.</p>
<p>While I am not a Bengal fan they made the playoffs the last 3 years. Their scouts are doing something right.</p>
<p>I looked at the draft and every third round pick from 2013 is shown on the 2014 roster.</p>
<p>^Same for the Packers.</p>
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<p>But perhaps they could have done better. They drafted a [quarterback[/url</a>] at #35 in the 2011 draft. But one might argue that they should have picked a [url=<a href=“http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/14001/colin-kaepernick]different”>Colin Kaepernick Career Stats - NFL - ESPN]different</a> quarterback](<a href=“http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/14012/andy-dalton]quarterback[/url”>Andy Dalton Career Stats - NFL - ESPN) who went at #36 in the 2011 draft.</p>
<p>But again, no one can know the outcome of the “what ifs,” so what difference does it make?</p>
<p>We are quickly reaching a point–I hope–where the sexual orientation of others is only an issue to religious zealots and other crazies.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2014-02-15/michael-sam-comes-out-gay-sexuality-returns-to-mizzou-halftime-watch-cotton-bowl-trophy-westboro-baptist?eadid=SOC/Twi/SNMain”>http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2014-02-15/michael-sam-comes-out-gay-sexuality-returns-to-mizzou-halftime-watch-cotton-bowl-trophy-westboro-baptist?eadid=SOC/Twi/SNMain</a></p>
<p>That’s a fair point Tom. But we all know about draft “busts.” As for the Bengals…well OK, they’ve seemed to have turned a corner, SOMEWHAT, LOL. But it’s hard to forget years selections like Ki-Jana Carter etc. And I’ll jump on the Bengals bandwagon when they beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the same season!</p>
<p>Incidentally, Sam and teammates were honored at halftime of the Mizzou basketball game yesterday.</p>
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<p><a href=“Cincinnati Bengals Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN”>http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengals</a> indicates that they beat both but also lost to both this past season.</p>
<p>Republican lobbyist advocates banning gays from the NFL:</p>
<p><a href=“A Republican Lobbyist Is Trying To Get Gay Football Players Banned From The NFL | HuffPost Latest News”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
<p>^^^That is shameful and beyond my comprehension.</p>
<p>Oh, for the love of God.</p>
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<p>Russell has the right attitude.
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<p>Read more: <a href=“http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/25/russell-wilson-race-religion-not-issue-football-fi/#ixzz2uMS6dhZq”>http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/25/russell-wilson-race-religion-not-issue-football-fi/#ixzz2uMS6dhZq</a>
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter</p>
<p>I’m glad Wilson said what he did, but we must be honest and acknowledge that it would be politically uncomfortable to say otherwise in Seattle. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, given the plain awful comments from people like that nitwit lobbyist.</p>