I was thrilled to see Michael Sam become the first openly gay player drafted into the National Football League (NFL). The coverage of his emotional response, including kissing his boyfriend, was tremendous. I remain skeptical, though, of the idea that his sexual orientation didn’t hurt him in the draft.
You’ve probably heard the current narrative. Sam was too small to be a lineman, and too slow to be a linebacker. His selection in the seventh round was appropriate for his football prowess, given a poor showing at the combine. The St. Louis Rams were the perfect landing spot given their proximity to Sam’s alma mater, the University of Missouri, and seasoned seen-it-all coach Jeff Fisher.
It’s a great story, because it pleases almost everyone. Choosing the gay home town kid makes the Rams the toast of both the town and LGBT football fans nationwide. The NFL gets to show tolerance and remain the ultimate meritocracy. LGBT advocates can praise the move without murmurs of special rights or privileges.
The only people left wanting are Michael Sam, who could have made more money if drafted higher, and those like me who see a different plot line to the same ending.
Either way, the story starts with Sam courageously coming out prior to the NFL combine. Until then, draft speculation was largely limited to the number one pick and the order of quarterback selection. Sam’s status was quickly added as a topic, and he was originally thought to be a third to fifth round pick. That seemed low for the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, but he was a “tweener”, making it unclear what his position would be.
Sam’s combine performance, including poor showings in the 40-yard dash, bench press and vertical leap clearly hurt him. Shortly after the event, Tony Manfred of Business Insider nailed the muddying of the tolerance question: “There’s now a plausible excuse not to draft him (at least in the eyes of NFL teams), which makes deciphering the NFL’s reaction to his announcement even more complicated.” Some analysts did push Sam into the sixth or seventh round.
What is rarely mentioned in the NFL meritocracy discussion is that Sam had a good “pro day”, where he puts on the show he wants, unlike the regimented NFL. His 40 time was under the 4.75 ESPN gurus said he needed to maintain third to fifth round status. He also added nearly 5 inches to his vertical leap. If you think pro days don’t matter, ask Teddy Bridgewater, who’s fall from potential number one to 32 is attributed in large part to missing receivers on his pro day. (It’s also worth noting that Terrell Suggs went from a bad combine to a defensive star on the Baltimore Ravens.)
Despite the good pro day, Sam’s stock seemed to go down, not up. Manfred seemed prescient, with media discussion of Sam not getting drafted, including how the NFL shouldn’t be blamed, and how being invited to training camp was really just as good. As the draft approached, reporting seemed increasingly defensive of the NFL. Just two days before the draft, political and sports numbers guru Nate Silver of Fiverthirtyeight.com joined in with statistics on how few “sixth-round prospects” are actually drafted.
In short, I find it suspicious that after the combine, the best defensive player in college football’s toughest division, continued to fall with only good information from his pro day. Sam’s Co-Defensive player of the year, C.J. Mosley of Alabama, was chosen 17th by Baltimore. Sam’s defensive teammate, Kony Ealy, was picked 28th. How does Sam plummet to eighth from the bottom?
Now let’s look at the landing spot. Shortly after Sam was chosen, the punditry said “Of course” Jeff Fisher, who has been around long enough to see everything, would pick Sam. He could handle anything. Not that there was anything to handle, because Sam’s draft status was all about his talent.
What’s odd is how few were able to predict the obvious before it happened. Reporters willing to admit that Sam’s sexual orientation and the attached media circus weren’t for everyone tended to put him in a progressive coastal city with a tough as nails coach who had dealt with such “distractions”, with San Francisco (Jim Harbaugh) and New England (Bill Belichick) leading the pack. The Rams were rarely if even mentioned, perhaps because they aren’t really in need of a pass rusher, as noted by those already pre-apologizing for the possibility that Sam won’t make the team.
Wondering why the Rams would take Sam? Here’s a thought: Jeff Fisher is also the co-chair of the NFL Competition Committee. He works closely with the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell. Imagine you are Goodell, who knows how to make money for the league. You know how bad it will look if Sam isn’t drafted, and you’re eight picks from the end. The Rams have two picks left, and you’re colleague Jeff Fisher is the coach. Who ya gonna call?
Or maybe Fisher decided to bail out the NFL on his own. Unless one of them is three jumps from a terrorist plot, we’ll probably never get their phone logs to know for sure. Regardless, I think it is much more likely that choice of Sam at 249 was a decision to ensure the NFL didn’t have to explain why no team drafted an openly gay prospect.
If I’m right, Goodell should be credited for knowing it was time to draft a gay player, and the Rams get a nod for getting it done. If I’m wrong, the Rams get what little credit there is to go around. Either way, 31 NFL teams need to think seriously about why Sam fell so far in the draft.
I mean to take nothing away from Sam, who I think should have been drafted earlier. So does Sam. As he told the Associated Press, “From last season alone, I should’ve been in the first three rounds. SEC Defensive Player of the Year, All-American. I knew I was going to get picked somewhere. Every team that passed me, I was thinking how I’m going to sack their quarterback.” I hope he gets the chance.
