faba Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 86 percent OK with gay teammate Updated: February 17, 2014, 10:30 AM ET By Ben Goessling | ESPN.com 219 284 56 EMAIL PRINT If Missouri defensive end Michael Sam is drafted in May and becomes the NFL's first openly gay player, he'll walk into a league that seems to be moving closer to acceptance but is still dealing with growing pains as it does so. ESPN.com's NFL Nation and ESPN The Magazine combined on an anonymous survey this past week off the news of Sam coming out as the first openly gay NFL prospect. Fifty-one players, almost an entire team roster, responded to four true-false questions. While the survey showed most players aren't concerned with another's sexual orientation, it also made clear the concerns players would have with learning how to relate to an openly gay teammate. Forty-four players said a teammate's sexual orientation didn't matter to them, and 39 said they would be comfortable showering around a gay teammate. But 32 players said they had teammates or coaches who used homophobic slurs last season, and when asked if an openly gay player would be comfortable in a NFL locker room, just 25 players said yes; 21 said no, while another five declined to answer. One concern for players appeared to be learning how they could relate to a teammate they knew was gay, and whether they'd need to behave any differently around him. According to one starting wide receiver, "Whoever takes [sam in the draft] should have an open talk at the beginning of camp, where everybody can ask what he's comfortable with, what offends him, what boundaries there should be. When it comes to race, people already know the boundaries, to a certain extent. But I don't think football players are overly familiar with what can and can't be said around a gay person." Sam, who announced he is gay in a Feb. 9 interview with ESPN's "Outside the Lines," said his Missouri teammates rallied around him last season after he'd revealed his sexual orientation to them. "I'm telling you what: I wouldn't have the strength to do this today if I didn't know how much support they'd given me this past semester," he said in the interview. But one NFL starting tight end, who believes Sam will encounter some difficulties in the league, said, "There is a little more of a family environment in college -- it was more like having brothers. In the NFL, you have friends, but it's a more work-oriented environment. "I hope guys can be professional and respect who he is and leave his personal life out of it." Sam, who was co-SEC defensive player of the year last season, is expected to be drafted between the third and fifth rounds in May. He had 11½ sacks and 19 tackles for loss, leading the SEC in both categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully80 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Hate surveys, worst form of research, completely subjective and people aren't truthful in them. They answer how the public would want you to answer because they know the public will see this, whether it's anonymous or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbatesman Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 vast gay-wing conspiracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 vast gay-wing conspiracy #iminmeetingslikethisallthetime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTM Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 These numbers can't be correct, outside of 4-5 enlightened posters here, everyone is a bigoted, racist homophobe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryK Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 What percent of NFL players can read a survey? 23. Does Olive Garden have good Angioplasty? 72% yes 31. What is Superman's Archdiocese: 81% Lex Luthor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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