Getting Ahead in the NFL Draft

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Michael Sam is the first openly gay player to ever be selected in the NFL Draft, and he might deserve the selection. But the question still remains, did Michael Sam use his sexuality to get ahead, or gain more attention in order to get picked? Some people could argue, "Yes, of course the announcement created more buzz around his name and brought more scouts and evaluators his way." While others could argue "Sure it brought more attention to him, but it also made teams aware that he could be a huge locker room distraction and that hurt his draft stock." Regardless of your opinion as to whether it helped him or not, everybody can agree that it brought him more attention. Seeing as how the NFL is a business and every aspect of a player affects their draft stock, I think his announcement did not help him get ahead. However, I still understand how people could feel the extra evaluation made a team more confident in selecting him with one of their picks.

Starting with the way I feel on the matter, I think this, among other things, hurt his draft stock mightily. Another thing that did this was an experiment in a senior bowl game at the end of his college career in which he attempted to play at linebacker, rather than his usual defensive end position. He looked noticeably slower and much less agile than when he played defensive end, and that put him much lower on team's draft boards than before. But I believe his announcement also put him even further down on most teams big boards. Being the first openly gay NFL player would certainly warrant a ton of media attention in and around team facilities. Almost every coach would prefer a distraction free environment where his players can focus on getting better and winning. With a ton of cameras and reporters randomly covering the team's practices more aggressively, the players wouldn't be able to do that as well as they could in a distraction free environment. Also, in a much less common and likely case, other players could be homophobic or uncomfortable with being in a locker room with a gay man. This could prove to be the ultimate distraction and risk for a coach to take and they wouldn't be likely to take it. With these factors, among others, his draft stock was, in my opinion, negatively affected. Because of this, I do not think the announcement of his sexuality helped him get ahead in the draft.

Many people will disagree with my opinion, and I understand why they would because there are also factors that could support  the argument that it helped him get ahead. First of all, the biggest and most prevalent factor, would be all the attention he received from his announcement. Many people from the start saw it as a strategical move for Sam to make his announcement when he did. By doing it weeks in advance before the draft, it brought unlimited attention to him from NFL scouts. Albeit good and bad, attention is exposure and around draft time exposure is vital. The more a team sees of you, the more they consider taking you in the draft, which makes people think his announcement is one of the bigger reasons he was drafted. Also, it helped other draft prospects at Missouri University get extra attention from scouts. Because of this, it is also a common belief that his teammates and coaches gave Michael Sam an additional outpouring of support to make his sexuality public when he did. Since these arguments could also be legitimate, you could try and say his declaration helped him get ahead of other prospects, but i do not think it helped him as much as it hurt him. 

Regardless of what you think of this, Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th overall pick in round 7. His selection was the first time in NFL history an openly homosexual player was picked in the draft. It is unknown if he will be the first to play in an NFL game because he has yet to make the Ram's 53 man roster and we are not very close to knowing if he will. At the defensive end/ pass rusher position, the Rams are loaded, so even if he makes the roster he probably won't be much of a factor on defense. Many NFL analysts from networks like ESPN and CBS Sports say he will most likely be a special teams player if he makes the team, which is not a guarantee. If Sam makes the team and plays in a game, he will be the first openly gay player in NFL history and he would obviously be proud of that. But that isn't how he wants to be known, " I just wish you guys would see me as Michael Sam the football player," he said, " not Michael Sam the gay football player."