I wrote the following commentary on February 10th, 2014.
With Raiders’ defensive end Carl Nassib becoming the first openly gay player in the NFL, today feels like a good day to bring it back.
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On February 9th, 2014, Michael Sam, a defensive end on the University of Missouri football team, announced to the public that he is gay…
…an outpouring of support has come from all directions, including his teammates at Missouri.
Still, the debate has begun as to whether or not his sexuality will negatively affect his acceptance in locker rooms across the NFL.
It would be an absolute shame if this is the case.
My reaction to the announcement was, “I can’t wait until we’re at a point as a society when this isn’t breaking news.”
An athlete shouldn’t have to face this magnitude of public reaction in regard to sexuality.
Our goal should be to view Michael Sam as a person or Michael Sam as a football player, not Michael Sam, the gay football player or Michael Sam, the national news headline.
His courage is the path to that goal.
The wave for support we saw in reaction to the announcement is a tremendous step in the right direction toward that goal.
We’re not there yet.
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Seven years later, Nassib’s announcement feels different.
It feels like we’ve made progress in accepting our neighbors for who they are.
But those words from 2014 still feel like they ring true.
We’re not there yet.
Here’s to more progress in the years to come.