The Briefing Room
General Category => Sports/Entertainment/MSM/Social Media => Topic started by: jmyrlefuller on August 27, 2014, 12:13:04 am
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by Cindy Boren
August 26, 2014
As the world waits to see whether Michael Sam will survive the St. Louis Rams’ first round of cuts Tuesday, ESPN’s Josina Anderson delivered a report from Rams headquarters about … his shower etiquette.
We learned from Anderson that:
Another Rams defensive player told me that “Sam is respecting our space” and that, from his perspective, he seems to think that Michael Sam is kind of waiting to take a shower, as not to make his teammates feel uncomfortable.
Furthermore, Kendall Langford and Alec Ogletree told her that they aren’t tracking the showering habits of Sam, the first openly gay man taken in the NFL draft.
A little later in the day, Chris Long had a message for the sports network on Twitter:
(continued at link)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/08/26/espn-is-reporting-on-michael-sams-showering-habits-now/?Post+generic=?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
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I suspect that, no matter what politically correct comment they're giving the press, more than a few players prefer to keep their distance from Mr. Sam in the shower.
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ESPN says it regrets Michael Sam shower report that drew criticism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/08/27/espn-says-it-regrets-michael-sam-shower-report-that-drew-criticism/
After it found itself at the epicenter of a storm of criticism over a report on the shower habits of Michael Sam, the first openly gay player on an NFL roster, and his teammates, ESPN responded Wednesday morning with a further statement on the report.
“ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly yesterday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports.”
On Tuesday, while providing an update about Sam’s quest to make the St. Louis Rams’ final roster, reporter Josina Anderson said that a Rams “defensive player told me that ‘Sam is respecting our space’ and that, from his perspective, he seems to think that Michael Sam is waiting to
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I suspect that, no matter what politically correct comment they're giving the press, more than a few players prefer to keep their distance from Mr. Sam in the shower.
And are probably noting which one's don't... :silly:
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I'm betting he makes the team. He had a good game against the Browns, sacking Johnny Football. He's got five tackles and two sacks in pre-season.
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I'm betting he makes the team. He had a good game against the Browns, sacking Johnny Football. He's got five tackles and two sacks in pre-season.
Perhaps the practice squad?
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The Rams have cut "the first openly gay player," whatever his name is, so this is the worst day ever!! Or something.
Michael Sam cut by Rams
Updated: August 30, 2014, 5:38 PM ET
By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11431047/michael-sam-cut-st-louis-rams)
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams released defensive end Michael Sam on Saturday, the team announced.
Sam's efforts to become the first openly gay player in NFL history came up just short in a competition against undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks.
Westbrooks is one of nine defensive linemen to land a roster spot on the team.
Sam thanked the Rams for the opportunity in a series of tweets after the Rams made the announcement.
Sam officially hit waivers Saturday at 4 p.m. ET when all NFL teams had to trim their rosters down to the league-mandated 53 players. From there, the other 31 teams will have until noon ET on Sunday to put in a claim for Sam. If he goes unclaimed, he will be free to sign with a practice squad.
According to one league source, the Rams would like to bring Sam back to their 10-man practice squad.
"There will be no challenge, no challenges whatsoever," for whatever team picks up Sam, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said at a news conference.
"There's no challenge with respect to Mike Sam," Fisher said. "He's not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked and you can't ask anything more out of any player for that matter."
Teams can begin signing players waived in the final round of cuts after the waiver period ends Sunday.
Fisher fended off a question about re-signing Sam to the practice squad, saying any roster adjustments would depend on other players now on the market.
The coach personally delivered the news to all of the cuts, except for Sam, who attended Missouri's opener in Columbia, a 1½-hour drive west on I-70 from Rams Park. He was introduced to the crowd in the end zone alongside cornerback E.J. Gaines, a sixth-round pick who made the team.
Sam blew a kiss and waved to the crowd, then walked back to the sideline. He posed for a few pictures then started looking at his phone and headed for the locker room.
Former tennis great Billie Jean King, who is openly gay, called Sam "remarkable" despite being cut.
"Michael Sam's quest to play in the NFL may have hit a roadblock today, but he may not be out of the game," she told ESPN's LZ Granderson. "This is a football issue and not about his sexual orientation. Some have said he can play in the NFL and hopefully another team will pick him up. What he has already done for the LGBT community is remarkable and I don't think we have seen the last of Michael Sam."
The Rams spent a seventh-round draft pick, No. 249 overall, on Sam in May's draft. He put together a solid preseason performance, coming up with 11 tackles and three sacks. In Thursday night's preseason finale against Miami, Sam finished his preseason work with a team-high six tackles.
After the game, Fisher offered an endorsement of Sam's ability.
"I believe he can play in this league," Fisher said.
Fans sure believed so: Sam had the seventh-best selling jersey on NFLShop.com, the league's official store, from April 1 through July 31.
Sam came out following his final season at Missouri, though he had told his teammates before it began. The Tigers went on to tie a school record with 12 wins. Sam had 11½ sacks and the lightly-regarded Tigers won the SEC Eastern Division, a huge step forward after going 5-7 during the first season in their new conference.
"If you look at our season, it didn't hurt us at all," recalled Gaines.
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http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/rams-cut-sam-gay/2014/08/30/id/591834/ (http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/rams-cut-sam-gay/2014/08/30/id/591834/)
Rams Cut Sam, 1st Openly Gay NFL Player Drafted
Saturday, 30 Aug 2014 04:47 PM
The St. Louis Rams have cut Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team.
The 7th-round draft pick has been outspoken and confident as his progress was watched as closely as any rookie in the league. He has been cheered by athletes and celebrities. In the end, the defensive end couldn't make a team stocked with pass-rushers.
The news was first reported by ESPN.
Sam still has a chance to get picked up by another team or to make the Rams' practice squad.
"There will be no challenge, no challenges whatsoever," for whatever team picks up Sam, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said at a news conference.
"There's no challenge with respect to Mike Sam," Fisher said. "He's not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked and you can't ask anything more out of any player for that matter."
On Saturday, he attended Missouri's opener in Columbia, a 1 1/2-hour drive west on I-70 from Rams Park. He was introduced to the crowd at the cut down deadline in the end zone alongside defensive E.J. Gaines, a sixth-round pick who made the team.
Sam blew a kiss and waved to the crowd, then walked back to the sideline. He posed for a few pictures then started looking at his phone and headed for the locker room.
The Rams selected Sam, the SEC co-defensive player of the year at Missouri, with the 249th overall pick out of 256 overall during May's draft. Sam came out following his final season at Missouri.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher was proud to have made the landmark pick, but he made clear from the start that he chose Sam because he thought he had the talent to make it.
The Rams selected Sam, the SEC co-defensive player of the year at Missouri, with the 249th overall pick out of 256 overall. He kissed his boyfriend as a national television audience looked on, and arrived brimming with confidence and with a quick retort for anyone who contended he was in the NFL only because he came out.
The cameras followed, but the extra attention did not seem to faze Sam or his teammates. Veteran defensive end Chris Long noted rosters are always made up of players from different backgrounds. One by one, players said Sam was now part of their family.
Coach Jeff Fisher called the draft pick a "second historic moment" for a franchise that signed running back Kenny Washington in 1946 as the league's first black player in the modern era, but he was most interested in describing Sam as a way to upgrade the Rams' defense. So was general manager Les Snead, who referred to Sam after the draft as a "designated pass rusher." Sam recognized the challenge, so he shed weight to be faster for special teams duty, reporting at 257 pounds.
After the Rams' first preseason game, a 26-24 loss to New Orleans, Fisher said Sam played "pretty well" but also made his share of mistakes. Sam, who was credited with one tackle and one quarterback hit in the game, emerged with confidence.
"You know, I can play in this league," Sam said. "I can play in this league."
Sam told his teammates at Missouri that he was gay before his senior year, and judging by the results it was no distraction at all. The Tigers made a seven-win improvement and tied the school record with 12 wins. Sam had 11 1/2 sacks and the lightly-regarded Tigers won the SEC Eastern Division, a huge step forward after going 5-7 during the first season in their new conference.
More than 100 coaches and players kept the revelation to themselves. Sam came out in February.
"If you look at our season, it didn't hurt us at all," recalled cornerback E.J. Gaines, a fellow rookie and former Missouri teammate. "If anything, it brought us closer."
Sam was lightly regarded out of Hitchcock, Texas, a town of about 7,000 along the Gulf Coast about 40 miles southeast of Houston. His first two years at Missouri, Sam backed up Aldon Smith and Jacquies Smith, both of whom are in the NFL.
The Rams drafted Sam even though they didn't need help at defensive end, where they have a pair of first-round picks as starters. The Rams were so well-stocked with picks, taking 11 players overall, they had leeway to take a shot. Fisher said Sam's value as a player "was off the charts."
"I'm determined to be great," Sam said at his introductory news conference, packed with reporters. "I understand that right now you guys want to make a big deal of it."
From the start, teammates seemed to like having Sam around. His energy was infectious and, if there were problems, they stayed behind closed doors. Publicly, Sam was just another late-round pick trying to make the Rams, which, like other NFL teams, held sensitivity training early in camp. The Oprah Winfrey Network put off a planned documentary on Sam, saying it would allow him to focus on his dream of making the team.
At one point, Sam's Rams jersey was the No. 2 seller among rookies at NFLShop.com, trailing only Cleveland's Johnny Manziel, and Sam was among just 10 draftees selected by the NFL to be featured on commemorative coins. Sam headed to the ESPY Awards to pick up the Arthur Ashe Courage award. He got a hug from Hall of Famer Jim Brown on his way to the stage and fought back tears throughout his speech.
"Great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself," he told the audience.
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The Rams have cut "the first openly gay player," whatever his name is, so this is the worst day ever!! Or something.
Another 'innocent victim'...
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Blatant homophobia :nono:
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Surprised they had the guts to do it.
No doubt they'll take a lot of heat from the Homomafia and the NFL front office.
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This might tick off the lobbyists worse than when Rush Limbaugh tried to buy the team.
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The shower thing shows a lot of players have no desire to go from tight end to wide receiver.
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The shower thing shows a lot of players have no desire to go from tight end to wide receiver.
Ouch. That's not what they mean by "taking one for the team"...
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Come on....he was a SIXTH round draft pick.
That means that 192 players were selected among 32 teams BEFORE Michael Sam was 'selected'.
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Blatant homophobia :nono:
AND racism.
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Blatant homophobia :nono:
AND racism.
Yes, a twofer. Any chance he's a female transgender? We could go for a 3fer.
..and a muslim, oh this could get really great.
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Gee, it sure is curious that no other 6th-rounder's career is being discussed in so much detail by the always-relevant news media. :whistle:
Michael Sam appears to be unclaimed; could sign with Rams' practice squad
By Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/michael-sam-appears-to-be-unclaimed--could-sign-with-rams--practice-squad-163456481.html)
1 hour ago
Michael Sam's journey to the NFL has hit another snag, but he is free to keep trying to make it with the first team that gave him a chance.
The St. Louis Rams made Sam one of their final cuts, which subjected the seventh-round pick to the league's waiver process. Any team could have put in a claim to sign Sam to their active, 53-man roster, but it appears that none have.
Michael Sam has not been told of any teams that claimed him on waivers. Appears he went unclaimed. Now free to sign with a practice squad.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2014
That could mean that Sam ends up back in St. Louis on the Rams' 10-man practice squad (the league recently expanded from eight).
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said of Sam on Saturday: “Well, it was a football decision and it was no different than any other decision that we make. It was a football decision. It was a football decision back in May to draft Mike. And once again, it’s been all about football.
"I will tell you this: I was pulling for Mike. I really was. I don’t say that very often, but Mike came in here and did everything that we asked him to do. He got a chance to play a lot of snaps. He had the second most snaps on the defensive line, to Ethan Westbrooks. He had well over 120, 130 snaps and was productive.
"But as we said on the front end of the whole...when we drafted Mike, on the front end, we mentioned that this was going to be a tough road. Those four defensive ends that we have on the roster are good and they play a lot and they’re very productive, as well as the tackles. It’s the strength of our football team. But again, it was a football decision.”
Is that a signal that the Rams could be interested in adding Sam to their practice squad? Perhaps, but it also shows that Sam getting on the field anytime soon with the Rams — barring a slew of injuries — could be tough.
Sam also could field offers to sign with any other team's practice squad now, too, but with so many teams running 3-4 schemes for which he's a poor fit, the options could be a bit limited.
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Bills’ Eric Wood blames ESPN [shower habit report] for lack of interest in Michael Sam
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL, was cut by the Rams on Saturday and passed over by all 31 other teams on waivers on Sunday, and so far he hasn’t even been able to land a spot on a practice squad. So are NFL teams avoiding Sam because he’s gay?
According to one NFL player, the answer to that question is yes — but not because teams are homophobic. Bills center Eric Wood says teams are avoiding Sam because they don’t want the ESPN hype that would come with having Sam, the only openly gay player in football, on the team. In response to a question from Ross Tucker about Sam’s lack of practice squad offers, Wood said ESPN is to blame.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/)
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Bills’ Eric Wood blames ESPN [shower habit report] for lack of interest in Michael Sam
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL, was cut by the Rams on Saturday and passed over by all 31 other teams on waivers on Sunday, and so far he hasn’t even been able to land a spot on a practice squad. So are NFL teams avoiding Sam because he’s gay?
According to one NFL player, the answer to that question is yes — but not because teams are homophobic. Bills center Eric Wood says teams are avoiding Sam because they don’t want the ESPN hype that would come with having Sam, the only openly gay player in football, on the team. In response to a question from Ross Tucker about Sam’s lack of practice squad offers, Wood said ESPN is to blame.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/)
Hmm. That may also explain why Tim Tebow has been out of the NFL as well.
The Bills could probably use both, oddly enough.
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Bills’ Eric Wood blames ESPN [shower habit report] for lack of interest in Michael Sam
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL, was cut by the Rams on Saturday and passed over by all 31 other teams on waivers on Sunday, and so far he hasn’t even been able to land a spot on a practice squad. So are NFL teams avoiding Sam because he’s gay?
According to one NFL player, the answer to that question is yes — but not because teams are homophobic. Bills center Eric Wood says teams are avoiding Sam because they don’t want the ESPN hype that would come with having Sam, the only openly gay player in football, on the team. In response to a question from Ross Tucker about Sam’s lack of practice squad offers, Wood said ESPN is to blame.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/31/bills-eric-wood-blames-espn-for-lack-of-interest-in-michael-sam/)
Can you imagine if he had been taken by a team, It would be the Michael Sam show. The TV announcers would have that camera on Sam the whole game. Just like that Superbowl that had Angie the wife of the quarterback for the Patriots. After every play he did the camera was on her in the owners box a TV shot of her.
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I just took a good look at the headline and it tacitly says there are other gay players who haven't come out. Since the writer chose the word OPENLY, it stands to reason he knows there are others who are NOT openly gay.
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Random thoughts: Exactly how open must one be to be openly gay? Does he have to have anal sex in public, or just talk about it? **nononono*
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I just took a good look at the headline and it tacitly says there are other gay players who haven't come out. Since the writer chose the word OPENLY, it stands to reason he knows there are others who are NOT openly gay.
Probably because they'd just rather keep their private lives private and be known for playing football.
Random thoughts: Exactly how open must one be to be openly gay? Does he have to have anal sex in public, or just talk about it? **nononono*
Publicly declare it, and then use it to define everything about you.
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Probably because they'd just rather keep their private lives private and be known for playing football.
Yeah, there's a novel concept: a football player distinguishing himself by his performance on the field, not in the bedroom.
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Cowboys to bring in Michael Sam
ESPN
September 2, 2014
Michael Sam is flying into Dallas on Tuesday night and will take a physical for the Cowboys on Wednesday, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
If Sam passes his physical, the Cowboys intend to sign him to their practice squad, the source said.
More (http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/11455007/dallas-cowboys-bring-michael-sam-physical)
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Michael Sam is flying into Dallas on Tuesday night and will take a physical for the Cowboys on Wednesday, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
If Sam passes his physical, the Cowboys intend to sign him to their practice squad, the source said.
On that team, he should be a starter.
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Personally I don't care if he is gay or not. But what I do care about is the over-the-top media buzz around him 24/7. If he was joining my club, I would worry about the distraction they would cause, and them questioning the general managers every decision regarding him.
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Jerry Jones is trolling for headlines, since he knows the Cowboys are going to stink it up yet again this year.
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I just took a good look at the headline and it tacitly says there are other gay players who haven't come out. Since the writer chose the word OPENLY, it stands to reason he knows there are others who are NOT openly gay.
Indeed, there have been several.
Tight end Jerry Smith was the first—over 40 years ago. Everyone in that locker room knew about it, and he even had an affair with another player (David Kopay). Smith ended up dying of AIDS.
As for today, if you assume the ~2% figure of the general population, there's bound to be several homosexuals among the 2000 or so players on an NFL roster or practice squad. “Fellow traveler” Brendan Ayanbadejo once claimed there were four of them planning to come out at once a while back; that obviously never happened.