This is now a bit dated now. Meant to publish this some point last week, but got distracted, and never got around to it, although I certainly meat to. This guy's message was very well said. His name is Dale Hansen, and he was very well-spoken, making some great points while showing the glaring contradictions between what many in the NFL claim, versus the grimmer reality. Specifically, the idea that Michael Sam, the young college prospect who should be slated to become the first openly gay NFL player, dropped his status by publicly announcing that he is gay. Many in the league seem to feel that he went from a third or fourth rounder, to much later rounds. Some have even speculated that he might not even be drafted at all.
A lot of the concerns regarding what could potentially be the first openly gay NFL player are exaggerated, and more based on convenient reinforcements of old prejudices, than on any actually legitimate concerns. Some have pointed this out, although these arguments have, on many occasions, fallen on deaf ears, because prejudices (and that's exactly what these are) do not usually go away that easily. Not without a fight.
What often helps is when the contradictions are pointed out in a very eloquent manner. Both actions and words can not only provoke thought, but change within a society on a topic that suddenly finds itself in the spotlight. Such is the case now with homosexuality, where progress in terms of rights afforded to every other citizen are being extended to the LGBT community over the years. Still, there is far to go, and sports is one of the prime battlegrounds. Perhaps the NFL, in particular, is the most symbolic battle for the extension of these rights, and this issue jumped to the fore recently when Michael Sam made his announcement shortly after the Super Bowl. Suddenly, the best defender in college football's best conference comes out openly as gay, and the idea of an openly gay NFL player is a real possibility, and no longer just speculation. Now, the issue becomes unavoidable.
People are speaking on both sides of the issue, of course. Those who are opposed are reinforcing the standard arguments used for a very long time now. A gay athlete, sharing a locker room, and all manner of other revealing and, yes, intimate moments with teammates of the same sex, is just too much of a distraction. It would probably incite violence, in fact. It would be bad for the image of the NFL.
On the other side of the debate, others are pointing out the contradictions in this rather dismissive, conventional mode of thinking. And some do so in a memorable way that strikes not only at the very heart of the matter, but puts the argument in a way that kind of jolts the society into thinking about the issue in an entirely different way.
That was what happened with Dale Hansen, a sports anchor from Texas, who made the contradictions so glaringly obvious, and did so in such a way that it was clear that his message was thought out very thoroughly. He was well-spoken, and his arguments pretty much exposed the concerns over the distraction of having an openly gay NFL player for what they are: prejudices. They are not really original, and merely extensions and reflections of the anti-gay prejudices that permeate throughout the greater society.
Fact of the matter is, the prospect of an openly gay professional football player is not all that threatening, unless you want it to be. After all, there are supposed to be professionals. They are paid big money, as well as receiving a lot of other perks, in order to play a game. Allegedly, they are supposed to follow the straight and narrow of a code of conduct in order to receive the fruits of their rich contracts.
Yet, far too often, they have failed in that capacity. There really are countless cases of active NFL players getting in trouble with the law. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals have dealt with it on numerous occasions. The Chicago Bears also had their turn. When Ben Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, was charged with sexual assault (also known as rape) for not a first, but a second time, and settled outside of court with his big money, the Steelers made a point of bending over backwards to bail him out, despite being clearly wrong. The talk had been that they might seek a trade, which would have reinforced the respect that I had for that storied franchise at that point. Conduct should matter, after all. Instead, Pittsburgh not only kept him on, but they successfully petitioned to minimize his punishment, to boot. With the blessing of the Steelers, the NFL reduced his ban from six games to four.
"Big Ben" Roethlisberger remains the starting quarterback for the Steelers to this day. His reputation might have taken a hit, as did sales of his jerseys. Yet, he is not even close to being the most hated quarterback in the league. Neither is Michael Vick, who was convicted, and did prison time, for essentially torturing animals. Cruelty to animals in the form of a dog-fighting ring, which went as far as killing those seen as unfit. Yet, he is not the most hated quarterback, either. Nope, that would be Tom Brady, because he is a good-looking guy who takes care of his image (and yes, his hair), and who has been criticized for his man purse and the manner in which he leads the allegedly "bitch-assedness" approach that his highly successful franchise utilizes to great effect. He seems too "glamorous" for many NFL fans to appreciate and accept. Yet, he is not gay, although many homophobic fans claim that he is. But he is seen, at least by these dregs of society, as somehow not belonging to the league, even though his list of accomplishments speak for themselves. Still, he remains the most hated quarterback in the NFL, for years running now, and even though he himself is not gay, I think a case can be made that there is a link to those homophobic attitudes towards him, and the similar ones towards the prospect of an openly gay NFL player.
Fact of the matter is, that the first time an openly gay player would prove to be a huge asset to a team, all of those arguments and prejudices would conveniently go out the window, and whatever team that player would be on would most certainly do whatever they could to keep him on, if he helps the team. That was the case with Jackie Robinson, who fought all sorts of prejudices as the first black baseball player to break into the big league. There was plenty of controversy back then, but somehow, the Dodgers kept him on. Imagine if Tom Brady actually was gay? Do you think the Patriots would release him? If so, is it hard to believe that a lot of teams would try and acquire him? You better believe it. Same with any of the elite quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers, who was "accused" of being gay earlier this season. Things like that should not matter. Yet, he held a press conference about it.
I think what he should have done is say more or less the same thing that Matt Damon did, when rumors were swirling that he was gay: he remained silent, and then, eventually, he told everyone that he was not gay, but he did not deny it because there was nothing wrong with being gay, so he did not want to deny allegations to something that was not wrong to begin with. But, the NFL is a different culture, I guess. At least for now, it is.
But that may have to change now, because most likely, an openly gay player is coming. I don't know what team he will play on, or what kind of success that he will have. Michael Sam may be compared to Jackie Robinson in regards to the impact that he has on the league, in terms of challenging previously accepted, and uncontested, norms. Yet, in terms of talent, will he be the next Lawrence Taylor or Ray Lewis? Will he shake up opposing offenses, and spread fear in them, changing their game plan? Or, will he be a more modest success, and the thing that people remember him most for being the fact that he would be the first openly gay player in the NFL? That remains to be seen. But I guarantee you that the very first time an openly gay NFL player would have as much of an impact as Taylor or Lewis on defense, or Brady or Manning on offense, those arguments of prejudice against gays would be conveniently forgotten by fans celebrating their team's accomplishments. Of that, I have absolutely no doubts.
After all, no one questions black athletes on professional sports teams any longer, right? No one dares to claim that they are a distraction, or do not belong on the same field as white men, even though those arguments were common some decades ago. Some closet racist fans might speak derisively about how "they are all criminals" or, indeed, call athletes like Richard Sherman "thugs". But they remain fans nonetheless, don't they?
In any case, back to Dale Hansen. He may have been well known before, at least within Texas. But his words have given him a much larger platform now. And his arguments are likely to long be remembered, for that matter.
Here are some of the main points that he made, taken from an article on "The Raw Story" (see link below):
“It wasn’t that long ago when we were being told that black players couldn’t play in “our” games because it would be ‘uncomfortable,’” Hansen said in a commentary on WFAA-TV. “And even when they finally could, it took several more years before a black man played quarterback. Because we weren’t “comfortable” with that, either. So many of the same people who used to make that argument (and the many who still do) are the same people who say government should stay out of our lives. But then want government in our bedrooms.”
"You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You're the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft. You kill people while driving drunk? That guy's welcome. Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they're welcome. Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away? You lie to police, trying to cover up a murder? You love another man? Well, now you’ve gone too far.”
"Dallas sportscaster destroys homophobic ‘concerns’ over gay NFL prospect Michael Sam" by Arturo Garcia of The Raw Story, Wednesday, February 12, 2014:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/12/dallas-sportscaster-destroys-homophobic-concerns-over-gay-nfl-prospect-michael-sam/
Watch the video:
"Dallas sportscaster’s shocking response to Michael Sam coming out as gay" by Abraham, February 12, 2014:
http://twentytwowords.com/dallas-sportscasters-shocking-response-to-michael-sam-coming-out-as-gay/
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