From The New York Times
Analysis by Tyler Brecht in SRM 334
The 2014 draft could be a huge milestone for the future of the NFL and the players in the league. Michael Sam was a defensive lineman for the Missouri Tigers in the 2013 season. He was a defensive star for the Tigers with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. This helped Sam achieve a 12-2 season with a bowl win, Missouri's MVP, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The curiosity of what this athlete could do in the professional stage was on everyones mind. This was before Michael Sam announced something that would change the way fans, future coaches, future teammates, and the media would view Michael Sam possibly for the rest of his career. On February 9, 2014 Michael Sam openly came out about his sexuality. He did so before the draft in order for the media attention to hopefully simmer down before he starts his rookie career. Michael Sam would be the first player to go into the NFL being openly gay in a prospective third round pick(Branch, 2014). With the possibility of changing the way the NFL has functioned since its existence, the media is going to take no day off from this young man.
Michael Sam first coming out has since been the beginning of the media attention that have spiraled around this player. One event came from the support of his own school prior to a home basketball game. Fellow students created a manmade wall to block off protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in order to rally around Sam's homosexuality(Patterson, 2014). Sam has also received support from our President, Barack Obama, and his first lady. Obama said to Charles Barkley, "I really like the fact that Michael did it before the draft, because his attitude was, 'You know what? I know who I am. I know I can play great football and judge me on the merits.(Patra, 2014)" With support from others outside the league the question of how future teammates would respond came into question. ESPN took a poll from 51 current NFL players asking how they would feel around a openly gay teammate. The results were that they were comfortable knowing he was gay, but the issue was whether they would have to behave differently around him and how they would relate to him(Goessling, 2014). Another problem raised when two CFL players were fined for their remarks on social media towards Michael Sam.
The real question is wether Sam's plan of dispersing the media attention before game day to focus on football is really going to work. There are going to be many future days were the media is going to have easy coverage of Michael Sam including the NFL draft, Missouri's pro day, the NFL Combine, and preseason attention. I think that it was a courageous act to pave the way for future gay athletes trying to make it to the big leagues. With that said Sam must be ready for the amount of media scrutiny coming his way. The media has a reason to give the amount of attention to this athlete because it is a game changer. Other athletes waited until they were retired from the game. Most likely the attention will fade away once they see what he can do on a professional field. Michael Sam may not be the only one receiving negative media attention from his actions. Other players and teams might be criticized for their actions because of his sexuality. Johnny Manziel is a great quarterback entering the draft, but might be overshadowed in his early career due to Michael Sam. Also, teams not willing to draft Sam because of team chemistry might be criticized. Teams might also have to worry about their players' remarks towards Sam's sexuality. In the case of the CFL two players were fined for their remarks(Alper, 2014).
This current event is important to understand in media for knowing that media affects everyone. Stakeholders are important to understand. Sports Information Directors are challenged with confidential information all the time and must know what to do in that situation. Before going to the media they must know how it will affect the stakeholders involved. No matter what media will always be there and it is important to understand the correct steps in approaching it. It was Sam's advisor's decision to allow Sam to release this confident information to the media before draft day knowing the consequences that would arise from the media. All this attention will not be set aside either. Future events will bring the topic back to surface and the media and those involved must be ready for it. With the new communication model in today's world, many forms of media can address this issue. It is important for those to look at the feedback in order to learn what to do in these situations.
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