NFL Draft

Many NFL personnel knew that Michael Sam was gay, but will it affect him?

I have talked to numerous NFL scouts about the Michael Sam situation, and most of them all said it was not a surprise, because someone had notified them of the situation (Whether it was Michael or a teammate is unknown), but was it the right time?

I personally feel if I was an agent it was smart, because he was already a mid to late round draft pick.  No one would really market him because of his draft nature.  Well know companies are going to be blowing up the phone line to get a deal done with the first openly gay NFL football player.  I would not be surprised to see Michael Sam as a top jersey sale in a few years.  The gay community is obviously going to support him for coming out on National television, but will NFL teams?

One NFL scout I talked to told me personally that he didn’t mind if the player was gay or not, but he felt Michael didn’t really have a position at the next level.  He said he looked great on film against the better competition in the SEC, but really struggled at the Senior Bowl.  When I asked the scout if he thought Sam’s stock would plummet he said:

“I honestly feel it will depend on the locker room and coaching staff.  If he lands on the right team with a good core, then he will be fine, but if he goes to an unstable team it could be a problem. I personally believe that almost every team already knew, what the world was revealed tonight”

I then asked another scout about Michael’s announcement and he stated:

“Why would you come out of the closet before getting paid?  I feel that was a very poor decision on behalf of the agent, I would have at least let him get paid before saying anything. Most of us already knew he was gay?”

The previous scout also said he would not be surprised if Sam was a very late round pick after his coming out.

I feel teammates will feel different, because it is a different situation, I personally would not feel comfortable in the showers with a man that is openly gay.  What do you think?  Was it the right time?

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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