Michael Sam could be the first openly gay NFL player

[Cesar Crespo]

If he was straight and signed with Oprah, no one gives a shit.

Sam is setting himself up financially for life, lets condemn him for doing something straight players do or would do.

JtB said it best in 3 words.

Even if Sam is a self promoter, so what? Pro sports are full of them.

 

[Tony C]

You can refuse to engage with the drivel HRB has posted here, but also think doing a documentary with Oprah is bad for Michael Sam's football career.

There are QBs with less talent than Tim Tebow who are still playing in the NFL. The reason Tebow is out of the game is because of the media circus he engendered, amplified by the perception that he courted at least some of that attention. Unlike Tebow, Sam can't do much about the media attention. He could, however, go out of his way to do his work quietly, as most late-round picks do. Announcing the OWN documentary is a step in the other direction.

Don't get me wrong -- Sam isn't doing anything wrong. He isn't the gay Jackie Robinson, with the fate of a generation of gay athletes hinging on his success; society has come far enough that the next gay man with the requisite talent will get his chance, no matter what happens to Sam. So, he's entitled to do what's best for himself. Profiting from his 15 minutes of fame may well be Sam's best move -- heaven knows he won't be the only one who profits from it. But if making an NFL roster and going as far as his work ethic and (limited) talent will carry him are his sole objective, then doing this documentary probably is at odds with that objective.

Edit: I'd say the same about A.J. McCarron, except that he's less marginal talent-wise (he's a lock to make the 53-man roster), so he can worry less about how a minor decision like this will be perceived.

 
 
Maybe...but "bad for his career" really in the most minor, minor of ways. Ultimately, if he can play he'll get a spot. if he can't, he won't. If it's truly a coin flip for the 53rd spot then one could make a subjective argument that this will detract from his chances in re the Tebow effect, or you can argue that due to the attention the Rams might be more likely to keep.  Who knows on that.
 
the point in re McCarron is that no attention was paid to that. This despite the fact that he's pretty marginal, too, and his is apparently an actual reality show (as opposed to a documentary, which is presumably quite a bit less intrusive). Just like no one cares that there are tons of shots of him smooching with his hottie girlfriend this indicates  a double standard...and that the actual issue is Sam being gay, not kissing per se nor having cameras around per se.

 

[Tony C]

 
I will admit that I was unaware of McCarron's thing....

 
That kind of says it all, right?

 

[soxfan121]

I agree with this 100%. Wouldn't this be the very definition of a "distraction" to a team, coaches and players working to prepare for the regular season?

If this is the case, which we both agree, wouldn't this then play a factor in Sam's ability to make the roster as Fisher will do what is in the best interest of the team?

 
First, the bold is simply not true. You might agree with something I've written. Your premise is faulty and you've chosen to ignore what I wrote about Fisher in the post you quoted in an effort to make it seem like we are in agreement. 
 
As I said, it really depends on how it is handled. It sounds like the OWN documentary will have some interviews with Sam (a large number probably taped already) and the basic (read: like everyone else) media access to tape other people interviewing Sam during regular player availability, as well as interviews with ex-teammates and coaches at Mizzou, etc. If the documentary is as unobtrusive as possible (and some documentaries can be very unobtrusive), then no, this is not "the very definition of a "distraction"". A reality show, with cameras following him everywhere would be a "distraction". But since there's no actual evidence that is what is happening - and in fact, there's evidence against such an assumption - I'm gonna categorically state that we do NOT agree, at all, about anything. 
 
And regardless this has nothing to do with actual performance on the field and in the meeting rooms and in the locker room. We, the general public, will not get ANY of that unless the Rams end up on Hard Knocks. And even then, none of us knows exactly what factors Fisher will consider and what weight he will give to them. 

 

[mauf]

 
 
Maybe...but "bad for his career" really in the most minor, minor of ways. Ultimately, if he can play he'll get a spot. if he can't, he won't. If it's truly a coin flip for the 53rd spot then one could make a subjective argument that this will detract from his chances in re the Tebow effect, or you can argue that due to the attention the Rams might be more likely to keep.  Who knows on that.
 
the point in re McCarron is that no attention was paid to that. This despite the fact that he's pretty marginal, too, and his is apparently an actual reality show (as opposed to a documentary, which is presumably quite a bit less intrusive). Just like no one cares that there are tons of shots of him smooching with his hottie girlfriend this indicates  a double standard...and that the actual issue is Sam being gay, not kissing per se nor having cameras around per se.

We agree, except I think the last few spots on the roster are usually "coin flips" -- i.e., subjective judgments between guys whose pedigrees and preseason performances are largely indistinguishable.

To underscore your point about McCarron, I'm a Bama fan and hadn't heard about that show. I can't speak to whether Sam's bf is as hot as McCarron's gf, except to say that's a high bar to clear.

Edit: deleted disturbing Brent Musberger reference.

 

[soxfan121]

To underscore your point about McCarron, I'm a Bama fan and hadn't heard about that show. I can't speak to whether Sam's bf is as hot as McCarron's gf, except to say that's a high bar to clear (even if I can't see her without getting a mental image of Brent Musberger pulling down his pants and beating off).

 
I'm not an expert but the boyfriend was on the swim team. So, he's probably smooth.

 

[VORP Speed]

 
I'm not an expert but the boyfriend was on the swim team. So, he's probably smooth.

The boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, is the grandson of Willie the Rat Cammisano, who was the head of the Kansas City mob throughout the 80s. His dad, Jerry, was also a wise guy who ran the sports betting in KC.

Tougher crowd than the NFL.


Edit: the rat nickname comes not from snitching, but from putting people in the sewer to be eaten by rats

 

[dcmissle]

This in no way is equivalent to Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks is about granting access that would otherwise never be permitted and thus by definition is intrusive. The NFL appears to be on the cusp of forcing a team to do that if there are no volunteers. There is no way Sam's private deal with Oprah can force this. The degree of access will be up to the Rams, unless Roger tries behind the scenes to bludgeon the team into a Hard Knocks format, which would be incredibly stupid. So it will be up to Fisher. If Sam were on the Pats and the decision up to BB, I think we all know exactly how this would be handled. The very restrictive rules that govern OTAs, mini - camps and training camp would be in full force.

 

[dcmissle]

The boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, is the grandson of Willie the Rat Cammisano, who was the head of the Kansas City mob throughout the 80s. His dad, Jerry, was also a wise guy who ran the sports betting in KC.

Tougher crowd than the NFL.


Edit: the rat nickname comes not from snitching, but from putting people in the sewer to be eaten by rats

Poor timing has deprived us of priceless Sopranos - - Tony, Johnny Sack and Carmine Lupertazzi seeing the kiss on ESPN draft coverage .

 

[JohntheBaptist]

This in no way is equivalent to Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks is about granting access that would otherwise never be permitted and thus by definition is intrusive. The NFL appears to be on the cusp of forcing a team to do that if there are no volunteers. There is no way Sam's private deal with Oprah can force this. The degree of access will be up to the Rams, unless Roger tries behind the scenes to bludgeon the team into a Hard Knocks format, which would be incredibly stupid. So it will be up to Fisher. If Sam were on the Pats and the decision up to BB, I think we all know exactly how this would be handled. The very restrictive rules that govern OTAs, mini - camps and training camp would be in full force.

 
You guys kill me.
 
Anyway, I brought the Hard Knocks comparison out. If there's any confusion--my point was simply wondering how anyone could qualify Sam's new show as a distraction for an NFL team when the NFL itself already mandates a likely more-intrusive experience via reality show for a team every year. They're not likely to be particularly analogous.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

 
First, the bold is simply not true. You might agree with something I've written. Your premise is faulty and you've chosen to ignore what I wrote about Fisher in the post you quoted in an effort to make it seem like we are in agreement. 
 
As I said, it really depends on how it is handled. It sounds like the OWN documentary will have some interviews with Sam (a large number probably taped already) and the basic (read: like everyone else) media access to tape other people interviewing Sam during regular player availability, as well as interviews with ex-teammates and coaches at Mizzou, etc. If the documentary is as unobtrusive as possible (and some documentaries can be very unobtrusive), then no, this is not "the very definition of a "distraction"". A reality show, with cameras following him everywhere would be a "distraction". But since there's no actual evidence that is what is happening - and in fact, there's evidence against such an assumption - I'm gonna categorically state that we do NOT agree, at all, about anything. 
 
And regardless this has nothing to do with actual performance on the field and in the meeting rooms and in the locker room. We, the general public, will not get ANY of that unless the Rams end up on Hard Knocks. And even then, none of us knows exactly what factors Fisher will consider and what weight he will give to them. 

Your initial sentence was "the magnitude of the media will be unprecedented".......are you saying this type of media intrusion during training camp isn't a distraction to the players and coaches?

I agree the coverage will be unprecedented (cute line about you not agreeing with me agreeing with you though).......and any reasonable person would recognize this alone is the very definition of a distraction to the players, coaches and what they are looking to accomplish in training camp.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

Distraction.

 

[Reverend]

If I'm reading this article correctly, he signed the deal for the show before he knew he would be drafted. Depending on the language and what he would get if he were not drafted, that seems potentially very shrewd.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Your initial sentence was "the magnitude of the media will be unprecedented".......are you saying this type of media intrusion during training camp isn't a distraction to the players and coaches?

I agree the coverage will be unprecedented (cute line about you not agreeing with me agreeing with you though).......and any reasonable person would recognize this alone is the very definition of a distraction to the players, coaches and what they are looking to accomplish in training camp.

 
I think the point is that if the "distraction" is caused by the fact that some think kissing the person you love when you get drafted is too gay for the NFL, then the "distraction" is the problem and what needs to change, not Michael Sam.  
 
It seems to me that if a black 7th round player kissed his white girlfriend on tv and someone suggested, whoa, the league is not read for rubbing that inter-racial stuff in their face, so, this is going to be a "distraction," and I would advise him that if his goal is to play in the NFL he should keep her out of sight, you perhaps would see this a bit more clearly.

 

[mauf]

Not to mention, the money Sam gets from Oprah may well exceed the over/under on his career NFL earnings.

 

[soxfan121]

Your initial sentence was "the magnitude of the media will be unprecedented".......are you saying this type of media intrusion during training camp isn't a distraction to the players and coaches? 

I agree the coverage will be unprecedented (cute line about you not agreeing with me agreeing with you though).......and any reasonable person would recognize this alone is the very definition of a distraction to the players, coaches and what they are looking to accomplish in training camp.

 
There was going to be "unprecedented media" presence for any team that drafted Sam. This was known. The Rams chose to draft Sam. Ergo, the Rams were comfortable with "unprecedented media" presence. Sam's endorsement contract with Oprah adds one camera to an already "unprecedented media" presence. 
 
I think you should stop pussyfooting around with "the very definition of distraction" and plainly state what you're getting at. It'll be cathartic. 

 

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

JohntheBaptist and HomeRunBaker need to share some cake and make up.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

I love cake. Lemon cake? We could have a real lemon party.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

 
There was going to be "unprecedented media" presence for any team that drafted Sam. This was known. The Rams chose to draft Sam. Ergo, the Rams were comfortable with "unprecedented media" presence. Sam's endorsement contract with Oprah adds one camera to an already "unprecedented media" presence. 
 
I think you should stop pussyfooting around with "the very definition of distraction" and plainly state
what you're getting at. It'll be cathartic. 

What am I getting at there genius?

Sam could have made this about football similar to how Jason Collins made it about basketball......he choose a different path one that I feel will prevent him from surviving in this league IMO and one that Jeff Fisher, the Rams and their players/coaches weren't prepared for between the kiss and Sam's self-promotion with Oprah.

It's naive to think that none of this circus matters and he'll be judged by his play on the field. The NFL "may" have been ready had he chosen The Collins Way......he didn't. That was his poor career choice.

 

[Reverend]

I was expecting a Jimmy Fund Bet from that post.
 
Color me disappointed.

 

[SumnerH]

What am I getting at there genius?

Sam could have made this about football similar to how Jason Collins made it about basketball......he choose a different path one that I feel will prevent him from surviving in this league IMO and one that Jeff Fisher, the Rams and their players/coaches weren't prepared for between the kiss and Sam's self-promotion with Oprah.

It's naive to think that none of this circus matters and he'll be judged by his play on the field. The NFL "may" have been ready had he chosen The Collins Way......he didn't. That was his poor career choice.

 
You realize you're basically saying that the NFL was okay with him dancing for them as long as he didn't get "uppity", and then saying that the onus is on him and not them for the consequences of that?

 

[AlNipper49]

 
You realize you're basically saying that the NFL was okay with him dancing for them as long as he didn't get "uppity", and then saying that the onus is on him and not them for the consequences of that?

I think what he's saying is that the Belichickian approach probably would have been more effective in this case, for the same reasons that Bill uses it but under different circumstances.

 

[URI]

 
I will admit that I was unaware of McCarron's thing, but looking into it, it doesn't seem comparable at all to Sam. McCarron's thing is something that A) He has declared he is not really going to be involved in it, and it is Webb's thing. B) Isn't about someone making it in the NFL, its about two famous people getting married and C) From what I can find, doesn't seem to have a network behind it and may not even be broadcasted.

Thank you for proving the point I was making.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

I love cake. Lemon cake? We could have a real lemon party.

You guys should dine on a blue waffle instead.

It's a huge distraction. I like and applaud the fact that Sam came out but whatever happened to letting your play speak for itself. If Sam is 100% fully committed to becoming a great NFL player then put your head down into the playbook during your spare time. I guess the only saving grace is that the Rams probably won't be chosen for Hard Knocks because of this.

 

[ALiveH]

I think the real watershed will be when a superstar comes out before or during his prime.  That would be far more courageous because the superstar will potentially have everything to lose (have a target on his back when he plays, might lose existing endorsements).  A scrub like Jason Collins or Sam has everything to gain (endorsements, book / movie / TV deals) and very little to lose (league minimum paycheck / getting cut).

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

You guys should dine on a blue waffle instead.

It's a huge distraction. I like and applaud the fact that Sam came out but whatever happened to letting your play speak for itself. If Sam is 100% fully committed to becoming a great NFL player then put your head down into the playbook during your spare time. I guess the only saving grace is that the Rams probably won't be chosen for Hard Knocks because of this.

 
Again, this kind of strikes me as a "he's too uppity" style comment. I know this isn't your intention, but he's not doing anything differently than several other players are doing or have done.

 

[Marciano490]

You guys should dine on a blue waffle instead.

It's a huge distraction. I like and applaud the fact that Sam came out but whatever happened to letting your play speak for itself. If Sam is 100% fully committed to becoming a great NFL player then put your head down into the playbook during your spare time. I guess the only saving grace is that the Rams probably won't be chosen for Hard Knocks because of this.

 
Distraction?  You know it's only possible to devote so much of your life to training and studying before it becomes detrimental, right?  If he wants to film a documentary how is that any more of a distraction than if he wants to learn to be a chess grandmaster?
 

I think the real watershed will be when a superstar comes out before or during his prime.  That would be far more courageous because the superstar will potentially have everything to lose (have a target on his back when he plays, might lose existing endorsements).  A scrub like Jason Collins or Sam has everything to gain (endorsements, book / movie / TV deals) and very little to lose (league minimum paycheck / getting cut).

 
 
You probably don't mean it like this, but it sounds a lot like you're saying that unless someone is great at their sport, they may as well stay in the closet.

 

[SMU_Sox]

I can see how having a TV show is a distraction. But aren't some distractions good? Guys, this will be a show about the first openly gay nfl draftee just trying to make a team. That's history - this is the exact kind of thing we should be embracing, watching, and documenting.

 

[Time to Mo Vaughn]

It sounded to me like he said the exact opposite.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

I can see how having a TV show is a distraction. But aren't some distractions good? Guys, this will be a show about the first openly gay nfl draftee just trying to make a team. That's history - this is the exact kind of thing we should be embracing, watching, and documenting.

Right, but if someone says that they are 100% committed to training and being the best in the NFL how does filming a documentary prove this? I guess I would be more okay with this if he actually made the team first. It just seems like a real watershed moment is being turned into a gimmick. If he actually makes the team then do this. Plenty of people have done NFL documentaries during the season such as a Football Life.

I'm glad that he was drafted but I hope that if he makes the 53 man roster it's for what he does on the field.

 

[Marciano490]

Right, but if someone says that they are 100% committed to training and being the best in the NFL how does filming a documentary prove this? I guess I would be more okay with this if he actually made the team first. It just seems like a real watershed moment is being turned into a gimmick. If he actually makes the team then do this. Plenty of people have done NFL documentaries during the season such as a Football Life.

I'm glad that he was drafted but I hope that if he makes the 53 man roster it's for what he does on the field.

 
Please provide a breakdown of an ideal day for an NFL prospect in half hour increments showing exactly how they should spend their time.

 

[Devizier]

I think the real watershed will be when a superstar comes out before or during his prime.  That would be far more courageous because the superstar will potentially have everything to lose (have a target on his back when he plays, might lose existing endorsements).  A scrub like Jason Collins or Sam has everything to gain (endorsements, book / movie / TV deals) and very little to lose (league minimum paycheck / getting cut).

They have a lot more to lose than you claim -- coming out publicly in professional sports opens you up to harassment from the general public, social isolation from your teammates, and bullying from just about anyone. Let's not be so glib about this.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Tyrone, he's not getting a token "gay" spot on the team or something like that (said in jest). If he makes the team it will be because he gives them depth at DE and can contribute to special teams. I suppose he could be a star too but I highly doubt that. He's no Jackie Robinson though... there is a damn good reason he was drafted so late and it isn't because of his sexuality (or it isn't solely for that reason).  

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

 
Please provide a breakdown of an ideal day for an NFL prospect in half hour increments showing exactly how they should spend their time.

I'm not an NFL coach but I would imagine a 7th round pick would have to work harder than someone taken in the first round. There is also a reason that NFL teams actively try to get out of Hard Knocks every year. It's going to be a distraction. Learn the playbook, hit the weight room, do the drills and compete. I really don't understand why so many people are applauding this documentary? If he makes the team then that's fine. Not that it will be any less of a distraction but at least he would have gotten over the hurdle of making the team.

Not saying that he's going to get a "token gay spot" but if it's between him and some random guy that was an UDFA with similar stats then who would the Rams keep? I want this guy to make the team but I would also like it if he concentrated on football. I can't blame him for cashing in at the same time let the play on the field do the talking.

 

[mascho]

Why is there this assumption that if he has cameras following him around for a documentary that he isn't "concentrating" on football?  I never understand that line of thinking.  It's possible to completely concentrate on learning the playbook, hitting the weight room, etc., and do other things each day.  

 

[EvilEmpire]

People are applauding the documentary because it is a good thing. Sam is a role model. A documentary, if done well, will help broaden his impact. All goodness there. It's not like the media glare on everything he does is going to diminish if there is no documentary anyway.

The only way I can see everything going south is if the Rams cut him early and outrage emerges in some quarters that Sam didn't get a fair chance to make the team. If that happens, and as was brought up earlier, I could easily see Sam getting Tebowed and not getting a chance with another team.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

People are applauding the documentary because it is a good thing. Sam is a role model. A documentary, if done well, will help broaden his impact. All goodness there. It's not like the media glare on everything he does is going to diminish if there is no documentary anyway.

The only way I can see everything going south is if the Rams cut him early and outrage emerges in some quarters that Sam didn't get a fair chance to make the team. If that happens, and as was brought up earlier, I could easily see Sam getting Tebowed and not getting a chance with another team.

I agree with the top part. But wouldn't it make more sense for them to do it after he makes the team? Honestly all things aside I feel he could end up Tebowing his career if he isn't careful. Can Tim Tebow play in the NFL right now? Yes. Will he ever play in the league again? Absolutely not. He has too much of a circus and his play doesn't back up the distraction. Unless of course if he plays for a team like the Pats or Giants where you have a coach that would rather drink cyanide than deal with any media presence.

Again my perspective has nothing to do with him being Gay. I'm glad he is open to living his life his way. I hope he makes the team. But long term this could end up doing more damage than good.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Zach Line (SMU baby!!!) had a slightly less onerous media "thing" for Peter King while he tried and succeeded making the Vikings 53 man last year. He was the only undrafted free agent from 2013 who made their squad and he spent a considerable amount of time working with Peter King and SI. Some of these guys already have families and little kids. Others party a shit ton. And yet these guys will have time for their duties. It isn't like you need 25 hours a day to make the team. I'm pretty sure Sam has time for the show AND the team - hell the show is going to document him working out, studying, etc. 

 

[mascho]

Until Tebow either A: learns to throw a 15 yard out route with any consistency or B: accepts a position switch, he isn't returning to the NFL.  The problem with Tebow isn't that he's a "distraction," it's that he is a poor NFL QB.  If he were good enough he'd be in the league.  I mean, the Patriots brought him in, it was a minimal issue because of the way Belichick deals with the media, and he sucked and was cut.  

 

[EvilEmpire]

The Rams know what they signed up for when they drafted him. The documentary doesn't change that. I don't think it even moves the needle much on what is already going to be extremely heavy media coverage.

Sam might not make the team or have a career based purely on football reasons anyway. Waiting would be foolish for him.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Until Tebow either A: learns to throw a 15 yard out route with any consistency or B: accepts a position switch, he isn't returning to the NFL.  The problem with Tebow isn't that he's a "distraction," it's that he is a poor NFL QB.  If he were good enough he'd be in the league.  I mean, the Patriots brought him in, it was a minimal issue because of the way Belichick deals with the media, and he sucked and was cut.  

Tebow isn't a better NFL QB than Blaine Gabbart?

I agree that he needs to change positions. But there have been personnel people in the NFL who have said that "no one wants to deal with the circus." Sam isn't close to Tebow's polarizing level though.

 

[SMU_Sox]

Gabbert flashed better projectable QB skills than Tebow ever did. While he never achieved them at any level of consistency if you can fix him he'd make a solid backup QB with some upside. Tebow will never have a QB rating in the 90's. He's just not that accurate. Bowiac had a good write up on Tebow a few years ago. But for Tebow to work you have to design your entire offense around his skillset. And what's the point of that if his ceiling, even firing at all cylinders, isn't that impressive? 
 
 
Edit: It felt odd to type that. But if you go back and read the scouting reports on Gabbert and Tebow even after what has happened Gabbert has more raw skills. The 49ers thought so anyway.
 
Further edit: Tebow might have the skills to maybe (and I mean maybe) be a 2nd or 3rd string QB. Arguing about Gabbert vs. Tebow reminds me of this:
 

 

[JayMags71]

Distractions are Bullshit

"Distractions" has been a catchall term in football for years and years, and it remains both pervasive and utterly meaningless. "Those distractions are getting old for me," Chris Kluwe's special-teams coordinator, Mike "Nuke the Gays" Priefer, told reporters in 2012, referring to the punter's "Vote Ray Guy" protest. "The punter can't be a distraction," writes this guy. Anything involving a football figure that isn't strictly about football is a potential distraction. Gay NFL player coming out? "Distraction," Mike Florio worries. Rex Ryan's foot fetish? "Could snowball into a distraction," a reporter suggests. Richie Incognito? "A distraction for the Dolphins," Ed Werder says. (Miami went on to win four of its next six.) Tebow? "Distraction," everyone says.

it's a useful word, for coaches and reporters alike. It betrays no values, no bias. A distraction is just a thing you can point to in the corner of the room. (It's particularly funny when journalists talk about distractions. They're the instruments of distraction, after all. It's like a fart asking, "How will you deal with the smell?"). No one needs to address the substance of the thing doing the distracting, only the possibility that, for three or four minutes during the week, the thing might dare interfere with FOOTBALL. Football teams do not like it when players bring so-called distractions up, and they do not like it when the media dare to ask non-footbally, distraction-y questions at a press conference. ("Hey Coach, did you know Aaron Hernandez liked killin' folk?") Football must stay focused on football at all times, or else the whole world blows up or something.

All the neurotic talk about "distractions" reveals a funny thing about the locker room. It's as if the psyche of a football team is some impossibly delicate thing that cracks the second the outside world sneaks in. Football purports to be the manliest sport in the universe, and yet - on a social level - it operates like a fucking country club. We do not bring up "unpleasantries" in football. That would be rude!

 

[JohntheBaptist]

Distractions are Bullshit

 
They way many of the people in and around the NFL portray being in and around the NFL as some sort of quasi-military call to honor is so fucking precious.

 

[PBDWake]

I'm not an NFL coach but I would imagine a 7th round pick would have to work harder than someone taken in the first round. There is also a reason that NFL teams actively try to get out of Hard Knocks every year. It's going to be a distraction. Learn the playbook, hit the weight room, do the drills and compete. I really don't understand why so many people are applauding this documentary? If he makes the team then that's fine. Not that it will be any less of a distraction but at least he would have gotten over the hurdle of making the team.

Not saying that he's going to get a "token gay spot" but if it's between him and some random guy that was an UDFA with similar stats then who would the Rams keep? I want this guy to make the team but I would also like it if he concentrated on football. I can't blame him for cashing in at the same time let the play on the field do the talking.

Hard Knocks is an intrusion into the locker room and requires all members of the team to be available, in team facilities, ostensibly during time that should be conducted on training. This is not the case with this documentary. The Rams will have complete control over this. This is certainly going to be much less intrusive than Eric Decker's series.
I don't get it. Interviews are entirely optional for the non-Sam members of the Rans. If they happen, they're on the players own time. And this isn't Sam doing the documentary INSTEAD of his football training, this is him being filmed doing said training. Any distraction is from almost certainly from people upset that Sam is a) gay, b) more popular than they are, or c) a rookie and already in the spotlight. None of those things are things Sam wasn't going to have against him in those peoples minds anyways, the show just gives them what they believe is a convenient excuse to vocalize their dislike.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Any distraction is from almost certainly from people upset that Sam is a) gay, b) more popular than they are, or c) a rookie and already in the spotlight.

I agree with the sentiment, but I do think it is possible that the documentary adds a bit of pressure to management if they decide Sam isn't a fit and they want to cut him. If Sam is cut, somebody, somewhere, is going to write or film a piece speculating as to whether or not Sam's gayness contributed to the decision. In a hyper-competitive media world, that story will be written somewhere. Probably a few times. If this documentary goes in that direction, with all the access to Sam that it has, things could spiral into distraction-land for the team pretty quickly. Does it matter? No, I don't think so. There is going to be a ton of media one way or another. I'm just saying that as soon as the media coverage changes from "awesome, uplifting story", all bets are off as to how much of a distraction any of this may be.

 

[bankshot1]

I really don't care if Sam makes the Rams or not. I'm glad he was drafted, and was sincerely touched by the phone-call he received, and the very emotional boy-friend scene, I thought that was as powerful a moment that ESPN has carried. But I don't care if he makes the team. If he's the best 53rd guy, I hope he makes the team, if some other guy (straight or gay) is better, they should make the team.
 
However, I can't think of the Sam/Oprah reality show as anything but a potential distraction. The focus will be on largely on him. Will stuff be orchestrated for the drama in the locker-room, training-room, or practice field, that the producers obviously hope for? If there's no drama, just kimbaya moments, the show is going to suck. And lets be honest if he wasn't gay, and the possibility for the drama wasn't there, or the possibility of his new team-mates coming out, (I'm mostly fucking round here) there's no show.
 
If this week on "Sam the Ram" is about the 3-4 versus the 4-3, Oprah may be disappointed.
 
IMO his one job is to make the team, and make the team better, not be the subject of a cable tv show, in search of ratings.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

However, I can't think of the Sam/Oprah reality show as anything but a potential distraction. The focus will be on largely on him. Will stuff be orchestrated for the drama in the locker-room, training-room, or practice field, that the producers obviously hope for? If there's no drama, just kimbaya moments, the show is going to suck.
 

 

While the Rams themselves have yet to make any comment about the production, Sam’s agent, Cameron Weiss, said filmmakers agreed shooting would not include any Rams owned real estate.
“OWN’s cameras would never be able to go to the Rams’ facility to be inside the locker room, to get on the field, because nobody has those rights besides the NFL.” Weiss was asked if the filmmakers had approached team officials to shoot at the Rams facility and said, “It wasn’t asked at all. We wouldn’t put the Rams in that position.”

link
They're making a documentary about his life as the first openly gay NFL player. It will not be NFL-centric.

 

[mpjc]

 
It's particularly funny when journalists talk about distractions.... It's like a fart asking, "How will you deal with the smell?"

 
That's what I call writing.

 

[Tony C]

Why do people keep calling it a reality show?