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time of one hour, 28 minutes, and 42. Michael Griffin Vikings Jersey .J. - A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on
Monday night that New York Giants centre Chris Snee and punter
Steve Weatherford restructured their contracts.Any NFL team that drafts
Michael Sam will be taking on much more than a rookie pass-rusher.
But experts say the smart approach for a team that signs the leagues
first openly gay athlete -- from a marketing and public relations
standpoint -- is to simply let Sams on-field play speak for him and his
team.
"While this is a significant announcement given the sport, the general
hope is that hes just accepted as one of the other men on the roster,
and therefore his marketability is still simply tied to his ability to
play well on the field and ultimately make the team," said Paul
Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the
University of Oregon.
Sam declared Sunday that he is gay in interviews with ESPN, The New York
Times and Outsports. The Missouri All-American had already come out
last August to his coaches and teammates, who respected his privacy.
Now Sam is entering uncharted territory as he prepares for the NFL
draft. The SECs co-defensive player of the year was projected to be a
mid-round selection. At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Sam will likely have to
transition to outside linebacker, which could impact where hes drafted.
But announcing hes gay could also have an impact on his draft status.
"Im not naive to think there arent potentially some owners or executives
out there who will say, Eh, Im not so sure now." said Golden State
Warriors President and Chief of Operations Rick Welts, who came out
publicly in 2011. "But also, I hope, there are a lot who would say,
Theres an opportunity to do something that I think our fans would
actually embrace. And if were supposed to win football games, if this
guy helps us win football games, thats somebody we should have on our
roster."
Sam, 24, joins a growing list of active athletes to publicly come out,
including Robbie Rogers, a winger for Major League Soccers Los Angeles
Galaxy, and Brittney Griner, who plays for the WNBAs Phoenix Mercury.
Conner Mertens, a kicker for Division III Willamette University, came
out as bisexual late last month, and is believed to have been the first
active college football player to publicly announce his sexuality.
Griner, as one of the WNBAs brightest stars, was the centerpiece of the
Mercurys marketing campaign. She also made a point of supporting causes
that are important to her.
"There was nothing about heer that was difficult in marketing. Andre Smith Vikings Jersey. We supported what she wanted to do with bullying and the LGBT
community. We made those connecting points," said Amber Cox, president
of the Mercury before leaving to go to the Big East last fall.
Nike has also thrown support to LGBT athletes, signing both Griner and
Jason Collins, a former NBA player who came out last year, to
sponsorship deals, and launching its "Be True" campaign. Profits from
the .BeTrue collection are being donated to the LGBT Sports Coalition to
support the goal of ending discrimination in sport.
Mark Elderkin of the Gay Ad Network, an online media platform for
national advertisers, said NFL teams need only look at Sams track
record.
"Theyre going to make their choices based on who the best college
athletes are. And theyre going to choose Michael if they deem him the
best pick. So, I think they need to focus on the facts, and his
performance over the years, his All-America status and everything hes
done for Missouri," Elderkin said. "Also his relationships with the
fans, and with the positive energy he has around his teammates and their
full support, shows that hes not going to be disruptive to the team in
any way, but is going to add value."
But its still a reality that gay athletes face a backlash. Derogatory
comments were easily found among the positive posts on social media and
other online commentary following Sams announcement.
A Pew Research survey last year of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender adults in the U.S. found that just 4 per cent saw pro sports
leagues as friendly toward LGBT people, while 59 per cent saw the
leagues as unfriendly and 36 per cent saw them as neutral.
Still, even over the past year there have been significant overall
victories in gay and lesbian rights, most notably two U.S. Supreme Court
decisions in June. One ruling cleared the way for ending a ban on
same-sex marriages in California; the other struck down a 1996 law
passed by Congress that banned federal recognition of same-sex
marriages.
It remains to be seen how growing tolerance extends to the NFL playing
field.
"I think the point thats being made in a lot of the discussion is, Lets
just move on," Swangard said. "If the guy makes a team, then he makes
the team. His sexual orientation shouldnt be the story."
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