Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted in the NFL, will no longer be the subject of a reality show for Oprah's OWN Network. While spokespersons are saying it is being postponed many feel that is code for cancellation. Opinions are divided as to whether this is a good thing.
Many folks seem out to co-opt Sam's agency, whether it be his handlers, OWN or pundits who want to use Sam and his status for their own agendas, like this guy (via CBS Chicago):
"On one hand, Sam's story is so much bigger than NFL football that it deserves to be chronicled, and one could argue that it needs to be. His comfort in his own skin, and his active desire to live truthfully and publicly are heroic and historically significant. Whether he is to make the team or not, even getting to this point matters enough for every gay athlete that it merits the attention. If his saga empowers or comforts one lonely high-schooler or depressed collegian tired of living in a self-imposed prison, the better for it."
That may be true but are really these decisions up to a bunch of pundits? Maybe Michael Sam's vision of changing American culture and the culture of the NFL includes success and the validation that comes along with it. Maybe it is very important that Michael Sam makes the roster and performs well. Maybe that is how acceptance of gay athletes will become widespread. Or maybe if Sam could anticipate all this (which he probably did, which is probably why he kept the show from the Rams in the first place) he should have declined the show offer in the first place. Whatever the case may be, that should be Sam's call.
Of course gay civil rights have a million miles to go, and Michael Sam is a willing participant in the shaping of that discussion. But he is also a young impressionable man surrounded by sharks. Maybe Michael Sam just needs to follow his heart and decide how he wants to go forward.
What do you think?
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