By announcing his sexuality, Missouri Defensive End MIchael Sam has introduced a number of questions. Will NFL locker rooms change? Will the NFL become more accepting?
I hope both are true, but there is something I hope won’t change. NFL broadcasts. I’m going to let you in on a secret. For gay men and allies who know the lingo, NFL broadcasts are a treasure trove of homoerotic catch phrases.
The best receivers catch “balls” thrown in their direction. The best defenses consistently “nail” opposing players. As a Chargers fan, I have to admit that I smile every time my anit-marriage equality quarterback is “pounded” by a male defensive back. My personal favorite: “He was a wide receiver, but now he’s more of a tight end.” I’ve heard of Kegel exercises for men, but I had no idea they were that effective.
Too much? Maybe. As a flag footballer who has played tight end for the MoFo’s, I think I understand how to take a joke. As a college football player who came out to his team, I’m betting Sam can as well. But that’s not really the issue.
Sam will or won’t be drafted. He will or won’t play on Sunday. Gay supportive fans will take it out on/not support the NFL. If he makes the cut, locker rooms will have to change. Broadcasts need not. There are reasons that the language of violence (nailed, hit, etc.) is problematic, but fixing that narrative is for another day. If receivers can be “pounded” in 2014, then they can be “pounded” by an openly gay defensive back.
Which means that any changes in the broadcast will be more about homophobia than acceptance, and a step backward for the network and sport. Should he make the cut, Michael Sam won’t care what verb is used for the take down as long as he gets credit for the sack.
If there is a complaint, it will be from the “sackee”, who doesn’t want to be be known as the first person “taken down in the back field” by gay defensive end MIchael Sam. If a veteran player like Jonathan Vilma can be scared by a look in the locker room, imaging what will happen when he loses a down to a gay man on the field.
Tough. You got tackled for a loss. To a great football player, who happens to be gay. That should always be the order. Everything about Mr. Sam suggests that the order will remain thus. He came out to his college team when he thought it was important for them to know, and appears to have come out to the NFL to own his truth. The most impressive thing in the story is that his Mizzou teammates knew and said nothing. Imagine the exposure any of them could have had. They all respected him enough to keep quiet.
Draft experts say that Sam is too small for his position, but a great presence in the locker room. They said the same about Russell Wilson. As he cruised to a Superbowl victory, Wilson’s performance, not his height, changed the conversation.
So it should be with Sam. His presence and his performance should change the conversation. Not his sexuality. Let him get flagged for a backfield violation. Half the viewers will stop laughing after his first sack.
