Well it's finally happened...a football player came out to the world and said he was gay. Now things get interesting. Especially when the NFL is still dealing with the drama with Martin and Incognito of the Miami Dolphins and the bullying that took place in the locker room. The brave soul in this case is a college player for Mizzou, Michael Sam, who will be entering the NFL draft this year. Within in hours there were people from the NFL telling the world what a mistake it was for him to come out, "it will affect his draft status, the locker room isn't ready for this, it will be hard to have him on the team." Then there are others who say "we don't care what he does off the field as long as he brings his skills onto the field, that's what we care about." So many opinions being expressed on this topic...so here's mine.
The NFL isn't ready.
As a male dominated sport...it is by nature a fraternity of epic proportions. It has it's own code of conduct, it's own way of dealing with infractions, it's own language...it's an entirely different world behind the NFL shield. But every now and then the rest of civilization gets a peek at what takes place...case in point when the locker room drama spills out onto the field or plays out in the media. Even then, we only see a small fraction of the whole picture. Even if whatever team drafts him accepts that he is gay, other teams won't. Other players won't.
The NFL isn't ready.
I give Michael all the credit in the world for coming out. I really do. I just don't think players are going to accept him. Things may have gone well in the college ranks but any player will tell you there's a massive difference between college and the pro's. If you ignore the issues that affect his draft status, there is going to be hazing, bullying and other teams and players trying to take him out because he is viewed as a "sissy" and they don't want to share the field with someone like that. In a world where Manti Ta'o is still being made fun of because he was made a fool for having a pretend girlfriend...how can anyone think having a gay player is going to be any easier?
Don't get me wrong, I know the statistics. Something like 1 in 10 people are gay, so logistically there are hundreds of gay football players in the NFL right now. Even more who play in the NCAA. I get it. But we are in a world that despite saying it's against bullying...still works to separate and classify everyone. White, black. Girl, boy. Rich, poor. Straight, gay. Christian, Atheist. From commercials to everyday interactions our society is primed to distinguish the difference between "us" and "them." The people who have and the people who have not. Granted tides are changing as the younger generation begins to lead our society, with their more liberal views and acceptance for things that the older generation wouldn't stand for. Yes, things are changing...but in this case, where the NFL is still a good old boy's club...it's just not time. Not now. Not yet.
The NFL isn't ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment