Posted on 05/13/2014 1:37:09 PM PDT by chessplayer
While Tuesday's Washington Post covered ESPN's elaborate planning to broadcast "a kiss that rocked the sports world" -- after openly gay Michael Sam was drafted, and they don't mean the later cake-shoving kiss that seemed a little scarier given Sam's size -- the debate over the kiss submerged the flagrant liberal editorializing that ESPN aired a few minutes before the Rams selected Sam with the 249th pick.
ESPN reporter Chris Connelly (formerly with MTV) uncorked pre-emptive anger, that if Sam went undrafted, the verdict of "history" (read: liberals) "will be derisive laughter, aimed at a league thus deemed by many to be unworthy of its place in contemporary society." Connelly attacked "tired old" prejudice and praised Sam for "weeding out the hopelessly hidebound" teams of the NFL.
Rodney - I agree and hope you are correct. I understand how sports works, trust me. All I am saying in my post is that out will be interesting to see whether the NFL bows to political correctness. I know the guy had a poor combine and is subpar by NFL standards.
We’ll see? Tell me, who on the Rams DL is he going to beat out?
Robert Quinn? Chris Long?
The Rams have the best DE’s in the NFL - Sam’s chances of cracking the 53-man roster are very slim.
Again, stop with this nonsense already.
So again, why waste the pick on a guy they know won’t make the team?
Now players, black and white, will be fined and penalized for using the “N” word on the field.
What’s next? If you hit the gay player too hard will it be homophobic?
The Rams had Three 7th round draft picks which are generally throw away picks.
It’s not like they have a lot invested in him.
They probably drafted him because getting the SEC co-defensive player of the year near the end of the draft was a good value pick even though his chances of making the team are slim like all 7th round picks.
Simply put, he was the Best Player Available at the end of the 7th round.
Any chance of an ESPN boycott getting off the ground?
I checked at the time, there were plenty available players who were rated above Sam at the time, and at least 5 OLBs that were projected ahead of him.
But why even take a guy that you know is going to bring a whole media circus with him? You can’t tell me they were so naive as to think having Sam in camp wouldn’t be a circus.
Its a mutually beneficial relationship for them: Sam media spotlight, endorsement deals, etc. ESPN and the NFL get weeks and months of publicity. Even if Sam gets cut, he will be set for a long time.
The NFL undoubtedly pressured teams, especially those with the last 10 picks in the 7th round. I’d be willing to bet if the Rams didn’t draft him, the Cowboys would have. In reality, Sam would have done better being undrafted- he could have picked anywhere to sign, a team that he’d have a shot to make. The Rams d-line has so much depth, it’s highly unlikely he’ll make the team.
Sam is a DE, not a OLB
He’s actually a ‘tweener - too slow to play LB and too small to play DE and his LB skills are more suited for a 3-4 Defense and the Rams play a 4-3 so Sam will play DE in the NFL, not LB
That’s if he makes the cut.
Again, he was the SEC co-defensive player of the year and the SEC is the toughest division in college football, so he was the BPA at pick # 249 out of 255 players.
Were any of those other players Defensive players of the year?
If not, they likely weren’t better and probably played in weaker divisions against lesser competition.
Again, the Rams had three picks at the end of the 7th round and took a flyer on the BPA according to their scouting dept., and they are likely more knowledgeable than you.
Or are you a pro scout for an NFL team?
No, he can’t pick where he would sign. A team would have to offer him a UDFA (Undrafted Free Agent) contract.
Has for sometime as does the S in SI that I recently dumped after decades for that very reason which I shared with them.
Sam was rated at the bottom of the combine. He only placed ahead of a few QBs, I believe. His D MVP is meaningless when you consider Heisman winners have also been drafted in the later rounds or undrafted period. And now to hear him say he should have been drafted higher? C'mon, man. You are NOT that talented.
I don't care that he's gay. If he can play ball, fine. But the reason he slid down the draft order isn't because of his sexuality. Its because he lacks talent at the NFL level. AS an MSU Alum, I'm pissed that 3 more talented athletes and better football players didn't get drafted AT ALL, and this guy did.
Pundits like Peter King and the like made this all about his sexuality- not his football talent. THAT is the problem.
Rush was right about McNabb. It was about his skin color, not his talent as a QB. We see it again with Sam.
SEC defenses sucked this year, even Bama’s.
The Rams had two of the top 13 picks in the draft, so having a camera in their war room was a givin.
And most teams have cameras in their war room anyways, especially if they have two of the top picks in the draft.
IDK who took the video when Sam got the call, but I doubt it was ESPN or the NFL channel.
Again, some of you are making something out of nothing.
7th round picks don’t get paid much and generally don’t get endorsement deals.
I seriously doubt that he’ll be set for a long time as his NFL career will be short.
Some of you are going way overboard on this Sam thing.
ESPN and the NFL Channel have pretty much stopped talking about it already and Sam’s odds of making the Rams roster are slim.
And look at that homo playing pro basketball. He’s sitting on the bench and not getting any playing minutes.
There’s no Affirmative Action in pro sports, so stop with the hysterics already.
It’s just ridiculous that some people know so little about the NFL, yet they think they know so much.
Like I said, they sound like the anti-gun nut talking about “Automatic assault rifles with hi-capacity clips” and other nonsense.
Again, if he was marginally better than anyone left, why incur the media circus that’s sure to come. Nobody would have thought any less of the Rams if they didn’t pick him.
Again, your opinion doesn’t trump that of highly-paid pro scouts.
Taking the SEC co-defensive player of the year with the 249th pick in the draft is a good value pick, plain and simple.
And plenty of draftee’s have blown up the Combine and have busted in the NFL. It’s what you do on the field that counts the most.
But you know more than NFL pro scouts, right?
IDK why people are getting their undies so twisted as Sam likely won’t make the team and even if he does, he will see very few snaps.
And talk of the NFL forcing the Rams or any other team to draft him is nonsense.
It sure didn’t give the Rams any pull with the NFL as Rams WR Stedman Bailey just got a 4 game suspension for using PED’s. If there was some conspiracy as so many claim, wouldn’t they have given the Rams a pass on Bailey?
Personally, I don’t think he makes the final 53-man roster.
Then hopefully, this silliness will stop along with the conspiracies.
We’ll agree to disagree, but you’ll never convince me this was a “pure football move.”
What part of “Best Player Available” don’t you understand?
And Jeff Fisher has already laid down the law with the media - they got their 20 minutes with Sam today and that’s it - the only questions allowed will be about football.
If the media can’t abide by those rules then they don’t get access, plain and simple.
Fisher runs a tight ship and won’t allow a season turning into a media circus on any draft pick.
Again, people need to think before they post or at least have some knowledge about the subject they are posting on instead of posting rumors and silly conspiracies.
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