Even the most rational comments in explaining how the NFL will receive Missouri defensive end Michael Sam are likely to get thoroughly scrutinized.
Those comments belong to former New England linebacker-turned ESPN NFL analyst Tedy Bruschi, who gave his assessment of Sam's ability to assimilate into the NFL culture. Sam announced over the weekend that he is gay and is attempting to become the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the four major American sports with his sexual orientation already revealed.
According to NFL.com, Bruschi appeared on a Wednesday edition of SportsCenter and warned that acceptance from some of his future teammates could take time.
"It's going to be unusual at first," Bruschi said. "And I think that's what has to be the process that Sam's going to have to go through because a lot of these players in the NFL do not know him yet -- do not know him as the person that former teammates are talking about, that the University of Missouri is talking about -- that quality of character that he has. They don't know him yet. What they know about him right now is that he's gay."
The part of Bruschi's comments that potentially could incite a backlash from those who are denouncing any members of the NFL who say Sam could be a distraction is "... Because you are talking about a locker room where there is immaturity, OK, there is youth, alright, and this is probably the most, one of the most difficult situations that some of them will have to deal with up to this point of their lives, dealing with a gay teammate something that they haven't had to deal with before. It's different. It's uncommon. Putting young kids in that situation, you will get mixed reaction."
The outraged media may disagree that welcoming an openly game teammate is "one of the most difficult situations that some of them will have to deal with up to this point of their lives. ..."
Bruchi is not suggesting that reaction is the correct reaction. It's the reaction that he thinks Sam can expect.
NFL executives who took part in a Sports Illustrated article about whether Sam's announcement would affect his draft status on the condition of anonymity have been hammered by some members in the media for giving their honest opinions of the effect of Sam's announcement on his immediate future.
Those outraged, such as TIME Magazine, say the NFL executives were passing their own "thinly-veiled bigotry" as the players' beliefs. Slate.com suggested that the executives shouldn't have been given a voice in the first place.
But if the executives are the ones making the draft-day decisions, Sam's announcement very well could have an effect on his status - right or wrong.
The New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Vilma already gave a controversial opinion on Sam's acceptance into the league, suggesting that players could be divided on their reaction to Sam.
Right or wrong, those expressing hesitation in Sam's situation is one he will face as he continues to pursue his NFL dreams.
If that stigma didn't exist, a gay NFL player would've come out while he was playing years ago.
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