NFL draft prospect Michael Sam comes out as gay--UPDATE: signed by Dallas?

[Mr. Morden]

Likely to become the first openly gay NFL player:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?_r=0

[RosettaStoned]

 I hope the Seahawks draft him!

[badgate]

Congrats to him. I got a USA Today News Alert about this, lol.

[tmthforu94]

Ugh, hoping the Chiefs don't draft him. We already have to deal with Daniel.

Good for him on coming out, though!

[bedstuy]

Even if you don't care about sports, this is really important.  Sports is so important to American culture that events like Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and Magic Johnson announcing his HIV diagnosis actually matter to how many people see the world.  Sports and especially the competitive professional leagues has been an anomaly in terms of homophobia and hopefully this can begin breaking that down.

And, as a gay NFL fan, I hope this encourages more gays to take an interest in the NFL.  We only have 3 gay sports bars in NYC and none of them are any good.

[Thomas D]

Guess I'll be buying an NFL jersey for the 1st time.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Also, unless he planned on staying in the closet his whole career, it makes sense to announce now so that whatever team does draft him is one that is prepared to do what it takes to make his presence acceptable with the other players on the team, even if it requires trading or dropping some other players.

[bullmoose88]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

[RosettaStoned]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

 Obviously he is good; he plays for a college team.

[Thomas D]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

Not going to lie, if he ends up on the Washington team that would put me, as a liberal, in an awkward spot.

[bullmoose88]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

 Obviously he is good; he plays for a college team.

Good being a relative term, of course.

[Mr. Morden]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

The NYT article says that scouts project him to go in the 3rd round or so.

This mock draft has him being picked in the 2nd round:

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_2.php

[bullmoose88]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

The NYT article says that scouts project him to go in the 3rd round or so.

This mock draft has him being picked in the 2nd round:

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_2.php

So, generally average according to the rankings...

[DINGO Joe]

He was the defensive player of the year for SEC.  Athletically, the big question is can he transition from DE to OLB? 

[NewYorkExpress]

The NFL is homophobic especially compared to other sports... he won't get drafted now..

[DINGO Joe]

The NFL is homophobic especially compared to other sports... he won't get drafted now..

He'll get drafted, there may be some teams who'll take him off their board without saying so, but he'll get drafted.

[King]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

The NYT article says that scouts project him to go in the 3rd round or so.

This mock draft has him being picked in the 2nd round:

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_2.php

So, generally average according to the rankings...

2nd-3rd round is generally expected to become a starter.

It is way too early to speculate on that though. Draft prospects don't really fall into place until March.

[Mr. Morden]

Here's video of ESPN's interview with him btw:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10429030/michael-sam-missouri-tigers-says-gay

[bullmoose88]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

The NYT article says that scouts project him to go in the 3rd round or so.

This mock draft has him being picked in the 2nd round:

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_2.php

So, generally average according to the rankings...

2nd-3rd round is generally expected to become a starter.

It is way too early to speculate on that though. Draft prospects don't really fall into place until March.

Yes yes, I know.  You have to remember, until very recently, how poorly my favorite team's selections in these rounds have been (save DJax, Kendricks, and Foles) historically.

[bullmoose88]

Kiper had him as a 4th rounder, pre-announcement.  Peter King's MMQB indicates the announcement may negatively impact his draft position.  Pity.

[badgate]

Oh, and he's kinda handsome, too

[Napoleon]

Is it horrific that I hope this impacts his draft stock? It would be great if he falls to the 6th or 7th round because of this and the Jets can snag him.

[free my dawg]

The only relevant question:

Is he good?  If yes, hopefully he'll end up on the Eagles.  If no, hopefully he ends up on another NFC East squad.

Not that far out of the question, actually - if they wind up going with someone like Darqueze Dennard or Calvin Pryor in the 1st then Sam would be a perfect pick for the second round.

[Napoleon]

The NFL is homophobic especially compared to other sports... he won't get drafted now..

Come on, if NFL teams will draft someone with a fake girlfriend they might as well draft someone with a real boyfriend.

[afleitch]

I don't think the NFL can afford not to draft him. If he's passed by despite his qualities then it's a PR sh-tstorm.