How Will Michael Sam Be Treated In An NFL Locker Room?; Forbes, 5/12/14

Lee Igel, Forbes; How Will Michael Sam Be Treated In An NFL Locker Room? :

"Sam is the first potential NFL player to publicly identify himself as gay. While many quarters are regarding his selection and its airing on live television as groundbreaking, and despite a bit of a controversy having bubbled up about that kiss, the Rams locker room and front office are likely treating his selection as business-as-usual. Sam himself has not had much to say about his widely-discussed lip locking. Instead, like a lot of those who are drafted later than anticipated, he has mainly grumbled that he should have been taken earlier and that he will prove it during training camp.

In the relationship between sports and society, Sam’s selection is a signal event. His journey from publicly announcing his homosexuality ahead of the NFL Draft to having his late-round selection aired live on ESPN is further evidence that attitudes about homosexuality are changing fast—and for the better. But the underlying reason why Sam’s story has gained so much attention has to do with the reality that our society still has serious challenges about how some people and groups treat those who are different from what is considered the mainstream.

Sports is not immune to these issues. But sports is once again showing that it can lead the way when it comes to inclusion of “the other,” beginning in the locker room."