The Significance of This Year's NFL Draft

If you're like me, you probably give football about as much thought as you give the dirt under your keyboard. You know it's there, but you really don't give a shit. I can't really fault you for your apathy. Personally, I find a bunch of grown men running a ball across a field for several hours to be sort of a bore. (Adding predatory animals would certainly liven this exercise up but the NFL has refused my suggestions) But, as few shits as you or I may give about the sport of ball tossing, this year's NFL draft is worth keeping an eye on. Not because of the new crop of steroid-infused super humans, mind you. I am more interested in the decidedly controversial side of this year's draft. I am, of course, referring to Michael Sam.

Hailing from the University of Missouri, the defensive end has stirred up quite a bit of controversy following his coming out. The first openly gay NFL draft prospect, Sam came out in February to a cacophony of reactions, ranging from passive homophobia to expressions of solidarity. In more recent news, Sam has jumped back into the limelight following an endorsement deal with Visa.

But despite the media maelstrom that ensued immediately after the announcement, coverage of Sam has been, well, lacking. Which is really fucking cool.

Because we are not yet an evolved 21st century society, the news of someone being gay is still cause for media hullabaloo. But the cool down time after is slowly starting to shorten. Our adaptability to these new developments is remarkably better than it was ten years ago. The fact that we quickly (for the most part) got over the fact that Michael Sam was a gay man is a positive sign of things to come. To be clear, I'm not declaring that homophobia is over and that we can all pack up our picket signs and go home. I am, however, insinuating that we are on a forward march, albeit a very slow and unsteady one. It is because of this remaining instability that this year's NFL draft is so significant.

Michael Sam, if drafted, would become the first active openly gay NFL player. Despite his insistence that we not discuss his sexuality, it's still worthy of attention. For one, his drafting into the NFL would be a huge win for the gay community. Not because a gay man is playing professional football (although that's nice too) but because a gay man is playing professional football for a traditionally masculine audience. I don't mean to sound insulting, and I don't have any statistics to back me up, but I would be willing to bet that a large portion of the football watching community is either completely ignorant of gay culture or thinks it's gross and would rather not hear about it. Sweeping generalizations aside (mostly), this could have the potential to make headway in getting the less-than-hateful-but-still-ignorant citizens of the US on board with gay rights. Integrating changes into something you love is always met with hesitation at first, but given enough time, I'm convinced that seeing gay players acting and playing no different than straight players would be enough to win over a lot of people. Notice I said players, however.

The second benefit of Sam's drafting would be his status as an inspiration and icon to other, closeted players or soon-to-be draftees. Demonstrating that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can make it to the NFL could be a massive confidence boost to gay athletes across the country. There always has to be a first plunge into the dark and scary world of uncertainty and Sam had the courage to take it. I don't mean to detract from his skill as an athlete, but I think that the far more important aspect of this story is, for now, his sexuality and what that means to the world. I can only hope that in the years to come, a story like this will be met with a shrug and nonchalance as we move towards a culture of acceptance and inclusion.