Jump to content

Michael Sam; homosexual NFL football player


Recommended Posts

Tony Dungy is thought to be the pinnacle of ethics and honour in football. . .

until he said something bad about Michael Sam.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/tony-dungy-says-he-would-not-want-to--deal-with--michael-sam-distractions-161330049.html

Despite this guy's pedigree, his comments are pretty indefensible. Moreso when you stop to consider his pedigree.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 223
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Despite this guy's pedigree, his comments are pretty indefensible. Moreso when you stop to consider his pedigree.

He was being honest. Anyone running a team has a first priority and responsibility to win games and have a successful season. If he believed that taking Sam might create additional problems for the team then he had every right to that action. If there was another player who he thought could potentially cause some disruption for any reason then he would do the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was being honest.

I don't feel the need to credit bigots for being open about their bigotry.

Anyone running a team has a first priority and responsibility to win games and have a successful season. If he believed that taking Sam might create additional problems for the team then he had every right to that action. If there was another player who he thought could potentially cause some disruption for any reason then he would do the same.

Dat so?

But Dungy acted as a mentor to (convicted felon Michael) Vick, and his efforts were noble. He encouraged teams to sign Vick before the Eagles did, speaking on Vick's behalf both publicly and privately to his friends around the league who were kicking the tires on signing him after Vick's prison stint. But Sam apparently represents a level of distraction that would be too much for Dungy.

...

Dungy seemed to "deal" with the distractions of Marvin Harrison being investigated for a homicide at the end of his time in Indianapolis. He dealt with Colts players Mike Doss, Darrell Reid, DeDe Dorsey, Dominic Rhodes and Dexter Reid who were arrested under Dungy's watch for various things that were illegal.

Dungy himself came into pro football as a visible minority at a time when being a visible minority was a potential source of disruption. Dude's a straight-up (pun intended) bigot and hypocrite.

Edited by Black Dog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sam came 7 picks from being undrafted. It's clear that Dungy wasn't the only one who thought drafting him might be a distraction. That and his Combine numbers were poop.

I wonder if homophobia will thrown out there if he gets cut this August.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was being honest.

You're not allowed to be honest anymore in soceity, or else the leftwing thought police will come after you. What he said was true. It will be a big distraction, especially in the locker room. It's may not be right, but it's true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sam came 7 picks from being undrafted. It's clear that Dungy was the only one who thought drafting him might be a distraction. That and his Combine numbers were poop.

Maybe it wouldn't be a distraction if all the bigots didn't keep making it one?

I wonder if homophobia will thrown out there if he gets cut this August.

At this point can it be ruled out?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it wouldn't be a distraction if all the bigots didn't keep making it one?

There was going to be an OWN show about Sam, it got cancelled because it would be a distraction to Sam and the team.

At this point can it be ruled out?

I've seen the value of the combine numbers minimized as a result of Sam's bad results. He is ultimately a marginal player.

Then again Jason Collins playing time wasn't an issue but he came out at the tail end of his career so it's no surprise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was going to be an OWN show about Sam, it got cancelled because it would be a distraction to Sam and the team.

I've seen the value of the combine numbers minimized as a result of Sam's bad results. He is ultimately a marginal player.

Then again Jason Collins playing time wasn't an issue but he came out at the tail end of his career so it's no surprise.

I don't follow football, but I expect it's entirely possible for guys to have good combine numbers and bad careers and vice versa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it actually? Again, I don't follow football, but is there a lot of evidence that shows a strong correlation between the two?

Why else would they have it? It's a meat market, you're evaluating the athlete based on physical metrics. It's one of the few objective ways to evaluate a football player.

The number one overall pick Jadeveon Clowney had freakish combine numbers. He ran a 4.53 40 yard dash. He was faster than Johnny Manziel.

840703861.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right, but pure physical metrics aren't the only determinant of future success.

Combine greats turned busts

I think a better comparison would be Combine busts who turned into NFL stars.

Trust me if Clowney was a homosexual, no one would care.

But Sam was projected a mid-round player, at best, by scouts. Bringing the media attention that comes with him being the first openly gay player when you're not even sure if he'll make the team could be considered a distraction.

It's the same reason Tim Tebow can't get on a team right now. He's clearly better than many of the back-ups on NFL rosters but no one will touch him because a back-up or third stringer isn't worth the attention.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a better comparison would be Combine busts who turned into NFL stars.

Trust me if Clowney was a homosexual, no one would care.

But Sam was projected a mid-round player at best by scouts. Bringing the media attention that comes with him being the first openly gay player when you're not even sure if he'll make the team could be considered a distraction.

It's the same reason Tim Tebow can't get on a team right now. He's clearly better than many of the back-ups on NFL rosters but no one will touch him because a back-up or third stringer isn't worth the attention.

Sounds like the NFL is just as conservative and hidebound as the NHL in some ways (overvaluing character over talent).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like the NFL is just as conservative and hidebound as the NHL in some ways (overvaluing character over talent).

Not really. Michael Vick is still in the League. Jameis Winston was accused of raping a woman and recently shoplifted, he'll get drafted. One of the most lauded players in recent history is Ray Lewis is suspected of killing someone. I could go on, and on, and on a bit further.

If you have talent then you'll be in the league. The big question is does Michael Sam have what it takes to make it in the league.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not really. Michael Vick is still in the League. Jameis Winston was accused of raping a woman and recently shoplifted, he'll get drafted. One of the most lauded players in recent history is Ray Lewis is suspected of killing someone. I could go on, and on, and on a bit further.

If you have talent then you'll be in the league. The big question is does Michael Sam have what it takes to make it in the league, not if he's Gay or not.

Interesting. I don't recall this much talk about "disruption" when any of those guys came back from their troubles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. I don't recall this much talk about "disruption" when any of those guys came back from their troubles.

There was a lot of media attention around the return of Michael Vick, lots of protests too. Jameis Winston's potential rape case was huge news last December as he was the reason his team won a National Title. Ray Lewis is one of the best Middle Linebackers in the history of the sport.

What we're talking about here are players (Sam and Tebow) who's celebrity is by far outweighed by the perceived value they have to the team.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't feel the need to credit bigots for being open about their bigotry.

...

Dungy himself came into pro football as a visible minority at a time when being a visible minority was a potential source of disruption. Dude's a straight-up (pun intended) bigot and hypocrite.

A football coach is hired to win football games. His job is not to make changes in society or to send some social message to others. If a coach started selecting players based on his own personal sense of social justice or to play them according to some societal agenda then he would out quickly - and good riddance.

Many coaches and owners have got rid of potentially good athletes if they felt that their participation would be an overall detrimental impact on the team. The reason could be a poor attitude, drug use, family conflicts, political stance, body odor or ...

If I was an owner of a team I would hire and keep a winner - not a sociologist.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is this a distraction?

When Ravens running back Ray Rice was indicted on a third-degree assault charge after a physical incident with his soon-to-be-wife at an Atlantic City hotel, the team was preparing for Rice to miss three games due to a suspension.

Instead, it's reportedly even less than that.
According to the Baltimore Sun and our NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the NFL has suspended Rice for the first two games of the 2014 season and fined him an additional game paycheck.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is this a distraction?

Not from the media I don't think.

Rice did get a 2 game suspension so that'll teach him.

The story about this is another player got suspended for a full year for smoking pot. Calls into question the priorities of the NFL.

BTW I'm not comparing being homosexual to committing assault but if Ray Rice was a 7th round pick trying to make the team and not the starting Running Back, I suspect he'd have been cut over this.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not from the media I don't think.

Rice did get a 2 game suspension so that'll teach him.

The story about this is another player got suspended for a full year for smoking pot. Calls into question the priorities of the NFL.

Gold star to the first reporter who asks Rice, when he returns, if he's stopped beating his wife yet.

BTW I'm not comparing being homosexual to committing assault but if Ray Rice was a 7th round pick trying to make the team and not the starting Running Back, I suspect he'd have been cut over this.

Pretty cool sport.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty cool sport.

As opposed to which sport?

The big problem with the NFL is there is no real developmental league. You can't make the practice squad you're on your own, you gotta play semi-pro, arena league or try your luck here in Canada. So when a player is drafted he's gotta be able to make a team that year and not get sent down to develop like in Hockey, Basketball and Baseball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As opposed to which sport?

Well, I think NFL is the worst of the lot. They weren't calling it the National Felon League for nothing.

The big problem with the NFL is there is no real developmental league. You can't make the practice squad you're on your own, you gotta play semi-pro, arena league or try your luck here in Canada. So when a player is drafted he's gotta be able to make a team that year and not get sent down to develop like in Hockey, Basketball and Baseball.

Point I was making is that teams are willing to turn a blind eye to some pretty reprehensible shit. That seems to apply at all levels of the sport from high school to college to pro. I know we see the same thing in junior hockey, but the scale is just so much greater in football.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I think NFL is the worst of the lot. They weren't calling it the National Felon League for nothing.

Point I was making is that teams are willing to turn a blind eye to some pretty reprehensible shit. That seems to apply at all levels of the sport from high school to college to pro. I know we see the same thing in junior hockey, but the scale is just so much greater in football.

Are you trying to say that because the NFL is violent it attracts violent people?

The NHL is violent. :unsure: They actually allow players to fight each other.

You could combine the violence with the fact that many of the best players come from troubled backgrounds. Hockey is expensive game to take up and generally families have to be well off to develop a kid into a pro.

So are talking about race here? NBA players come from similar backgrounds in some cases. Not sure the numbers comparable though. An NBA team has 12 players, an NFL team has 53 players so the pool is a lot larger.

Edited by Boges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Tell a friend

    Love Repolitics.com - Political Discussion Forums? Tell a friend!
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      10,712
    • Most Online
      1,403

    Newest Member
    nyralucas
    Joined
  • Recent Achievements

    • Jeary earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Venandi went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Gaétan earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Dictatords earned a badge
      First Post
    • babetteteets earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...