The confession by
University of Missouri football player Michael Sam about his sexual orientation
has received praise across the country, especially from President Obama and
First Lady Michelle. This admission has received quite a bit of coverage in
various news, media and entertainment outlets like the New York Times, ESPN, NFL
Network, Sports Illustrated, and even the Arsenio Hall show. I wonder why
Michael decided to mention that he is “openly gay” at this point as opposed to
sooner; wait until later to talk about it or not say anything about his sexual
preference. Did someone find out about Michael’s lifestyle choice and threaten
to expose him by leaking it to the public and so he decided to get ahead of it
to save further embarrassment, ridicule or criticism? Was this done to spare
his teammates, coaches, family, friends, or the University further anxieties
about having to explain potentially damaging rumors and inquiries into
Michael’s past and present off-campus activities, private life and intimate
associations? Also, there is a cultural dimension to the matter because Michael
is African-American and attitudes about homosexuality versus Black male
masculinity are a little more complex than perhaps any other ethnic/racial
group; with the possible exception among those of Latino origin. The “down low”
brother has been the object of scorn, controversy, and contradiction within the
Black community and its perceived threat to Black manhood or identity. The time
and attention over this brouhaha may well be misplaced. If Tim Tebow came out
of the closet as a gay man, then there might be something to talk about, but in
Michael’s case, I am not so sure; and it might have been overblown, anyway.
New Orleans Saints
Linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, made an interesting statement to reporter Andrea
Kremer of NFL Network, in which he said, “I’m naked, taking a shower, and the
guy looks at me . . . what am I supposed to do?” The reaction is based on
whether one is ‘homophobic’ and the level of self-confidence or security in
your own sense of being a man or level of physicality. There are men who have
tendencies or subtle attractions or attachments to other males in some kind of
bonding ritual but are not homosexuals; at least they do not act on the
feelings in an intimate sexual manner but they do like to roughhouse a little
bit; or perhaps it is more than that. There are also “feminized males” but not
the ones who are cross-dressers, transgendered, or likes to wear some article
of female clothing, which is usually panties; but not necessarily always. There
are a few other examples but not to digress any further from the case of
Michael Sam and other athletes, both in and out of professional sports, should
everyone who is gay or lesbian say they are? I mean, what you do in private and
behind closed doors is your personal business as long as your lifestyle choice
doesn’t pose a threat or harm to me or in some way leads to the destruction of
society. The only thing that is relevant in the discussion is whether or not
someone has HIV/AIDS [like former NBA great, Earvin “magic” Johnson], and having a
same-sex male partner is not synonymous with the disease or any other health
risk, so I don’t see what the problem is. So, would the spotlight be on Michael
Sam if he were not a gridiron star player who will be included in the NFL
draft? What if there is an openly gay athlete who sits on the bench and gets
very little playing time-is his/her sexual orientation less important, or is
he/she less courageous than Michael? Maybe one day these tell all’s won’t be so
surprising [if they really are], but until then the “tabloid” media will
continue to entertain the public with more stories like this one.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St.
#B-11Tacoma, WA 98402
February 12, 2014
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
