Dallas Cowboys Plan to Sign Michael Sam to Practice Squad

Years ago when I lived in Houston, I began being a fan of the Dallas Cowboys because the Houston Oilers were nothing short of terrible - an embarrassment to the city of Houston.  When I moved back to Virginia, the abundance of obnoxious Washington Red Skin fans - most of whom had no ties whatsoever to Washington - made remaining a Cowboys fan look worthwhile.  Now, there may be another reason to cheer the Cowboys: the NFL is reporting that the Cowboys plan on signing Michael Sam to their practice team.  Here are some highlights from NFL.com:

Michael Sam's NFL journey isn't over yet.

The Dallas Cowboys plan to bring the free-agent defensive end in for a physical on Wednesday, a team source told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. If the rookie passes, Sam will be added to the team's practice squad.

The seventh-round pick of the Rams cleared waivers on Sunday after St. Louis released him during their roster reduction to 53 men. NFL Media columnist Michael Silver reported that coach Jeff Fisher "remains a fan" but the Rams needed practice help at other positions due to injury concerns.

The NFL's first openly gay player racked up 2.5 sacks this preseason and led the Rams with six tackles in Thursday night's preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Cowboys spent Tuesday calling their own players to gauge reaction to making Sam a Cowboy. With the Rams out of the picture, Dallas looms as a solid fit for last year's SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year because of the team's 4-3 scheme and a desperate need for help on defense.

A Gay Guide to Super Bowl XLVIII

 

I will admit that aside from skiing (on snow and water), sailing, and surfing, I did not get the sports gene.  Neither did the boyfriend.  Nonetheless, we will be attending a friend's annual Super Bowl party in Virginia Beach where there will be a plethora of gays some of whom will be actually paying attention to the game.  Since I don't follow pro-sports teams, I will be supporting the Sea Hawks based on the fact that my son (who doesn't follow sports either) and daughter and son-in-law live in Washington State whereas I have no connection at all with Denver.  Given that I will be at a Super Bowl party, a column in Out Sports gives some facts on tonight's game for the non-sports follower.  Here are highlights:

This is my 13th installment of how I see the Super Bowl, along with the important and fun angles.

A friend of mine says it perpetuates stereotypes that gay men only like the Academy Awards, reality TV or fashion, but the conceit has always been that it's a knowledgeable gay football fan hoping readers, gay or straight, will learn something new to toss out at a Super Bowl party.

WHAT: Super Bowl XLVIII (48 for our non-Roman readers) will be held Sunday Feb. 2 and pits the Denver Broncos (15-3) from from the American Football Conference against the Seattle Seahawks (15-3) from the National Football Conference. 

BUD BOWL: The game matches two teams located in states that have legalized marijuana, Colorado and Washington. Super Bowl 420, the Weed Eater Bowl … insert your pot pun here.

WHERE: The game is being played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., though technically the host city is New York. Both teams are staying in Jersey City, so don't expect a lot of late nights in Manhattan for the players. Rest assured, no A-list parties will be held in Jersey City.

WEATHER: The big news about the location is that it's the first time a game is being played in a cold weather climate in a non-covered stadium. The forecast for game time (6:30 p.m. local) is for the temperature in the mid-20s with a chance of snow showers, which would make it the coldest Super Bowl game ever. I think it's a terrible idea to hold the game outdoors in a cold climate, since weather should not be a determining factor once the conference playoffs are over. But hosting a Super Bowl was an inducement the NFL offered the New York Jets and Giants for building MetLife Stadium.

KICKOFF/TV: The kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EST, shortly after opera soprano Renee Fleming sings the National Anthem. She is the first opera singer to perform the song at the Super Bowl. Friend of Outsports and my source for all things opera, Jim Allen, has this to say about Fleming:  "She's marketed in the opera world as a sophisticated but unpretentious, non-Diva singer who just happens to be one of the most popular opera singers in the world.

FASHION NOTE: Denver is the home team and will wear orange jerseys with white pants. The Seahawks will wear their white away jerseys with navy pants with a neon green stripe. It will be a good contrast on TV.

SHIRTLESS FASHION NOTE: Denver wide receiver Eric Decker and his wife, country singer Jessie James, have a reality show on E! They also did a photo spread for GQ magazine they featured a lot of him shirtless, which garnered zero complaints from our readers:

THE GAY ANGLE: Unlike past recent Super Bowls, there is not much of a gay angle here, with few cases of players saying anything pro or con about gay issues. Seattle punter Jon Ryan was very vocal last Super Bowl when San Franciso 49ers player Chris Culliver made anti-gay remarks; Ryan said Culliver needed to be suspended. In contrast, Seattle lineman Chris Clemons, responding to Jason Collins coming out in the NBA, said a player coming out openly would be a "selfish act."

As for Denver, . . . Broncos defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said "it would be hard" for some players to accept a gay player.

ENTERTAINMENT: Bruno Mars, backed up by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, will be the halftime entertainment. Since I can't name one song Mars has done and have never liked the Peppers music, I don't have much to say and will use halftime for a food break. The only question will be whether Flea gets shirtless in 20-degree temperatures.

THE COMMERCIALS: You can preview Super Bowl commercials on a zillion sites and they usually bore me, but one I will watch will be David Beckham for H&M underwear:  "In the spot, David is accidentally locked out of a photo shoot on a rooftop wearing only his underwear. With no way down, he goes to great lengths to find a way back inside, performing all his own stunts in the process.  Fans will see Beckham zipline across rooftops, scale buildings and navigate tricky obstacles all in his signature briefs. The commercial culminates in one of two unexpected ways – with David either "#Covered" or "#Uncovered."

THE PICK: Before the season I took Denver over Seattle in the Super Bowl and I see no need to change it. Manning will make enough plays and Welker in the slot catching passes will be the X factor. Denver's defense will do just enough to hold down Wilson and the Seahawks. Broncos 23, Seahawks 20.

Should the NFL Suspend San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver?

I'll be upfront on my view of most aspects of pro-sports, but in particular pro-football.  I see pro-football is little more than a modern day version of gladiator contests where most of the players are brutish, mindless idiots who are grossly over paid.   The Clydesdales at Busch Gardens in nearby Williamsburg seemingly out shine many NFL players in the intelligence department.  Underscoring this reality, in the lead up to this weekend's Super Bowl game, Chris Culliver, a seemingly stereotypical dimwitted San Francisco 49er's player has ignited a fire storm with homophobic remarks about gays and gays in the NFL.  Michelangelo Signorile makes the case as to why the NFL/49er's should suspend Culliver and not allow him to play in Sunday's game.  Here are excerpts:

San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver selfishly shot off his mouth yesterday, igniting a firestorm of controversy and creating a nightmare for his team and the National Football League as they head to the Super Bowl. For that alone the NFL should suspend him, his comments having put his entire team at the center of an unnecessary controversy as they're trying to focus on the game.

But for the horrendously bigoted, anti-gay content of his remarks, there is no question that Culliver must be suspended if the NFL is serious about its claims to be taking on homophobia in its ranks. Thanks to players like Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo and their pro-gay advocacy, we're seeing a shift among NFL players, but the leadership needs to take strong stand against Culliver's kind of bigotry if that shift is to continue. 

"I don't do the gay guys, man," Culliver told radio host Artie Lange. "I don't do that. No."  Asked whether there are any gay players on the 49ers, Culliver said, "Nah. We don't got no gay people on the team. You know, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff."

Incredulous, Lange pointed out that gay players might be able to play well, too, but Culliver responded, "Nah. Nah. Can't be... can't... uh... be in the locker room."

Lange then asked whether Culliver thought gay players should stay closeted while playing professionally, and Culliver responded, "Yeah, you gotta, you gotta come out 10 years later after that."

The NFL and many of its officials, as well as many team owners, managers and coaches, have gone to great lengths in condemning homophobia and saying that it would be fine for a player to come out as gay and that he'd be accepted and welcome. But statements like Culliver's, if they go unpunished, make all of that look like window dressing, and no player is going to even think about coming out.

The San Francisco 49ers issued a statement condemning Culliver's remarks and saying that they have "addressed the matter with Chris" and that they "proudly support the LGBT community." But again, without any repercussions, it's all just words. Culliver himself issued a ridiculously weak apology that he didn't even seem to write himself: "The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel," he said. "Those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart."  Really?

[T]he 49ers suspended running back Brandon Jacobs just last month for making derogatory comments about his bosses. Are the team management saying that they take it seriously when they themselves are insulted, but not when closeted gay players and gay fans are subjected to bigoted, offensive remarks? 

If there is no suspension, the message from the NFL to young people, amid continued reports of suicides by LGBT youth who experienced bullying, is that it's OK for sports players and everyone else to attack gays and demand that they stay closeted and live in shame. If Culliver faces no repercussions, then the NFL's words about support and acceptance of gay athletes and fans are completely empty.

Personally, I agree with Michelangelo.  Suspend Culliver's ass.

Former Pirates Owner and Newspaper Heir Kevin McClatchy Comes Out

In some ways it is heartening to see older gays finally coming out.  Finally coming to terms with who one is - even if it takes years of therapy to make the transition - is extremely liberating and not hating and despising oneself daily makes for such a sense of inner peace.  That said, there are still many trials and tribulations that need to be surmounted and, as noted in a prior post, for married gays there is the calamity of telling your straight spouse and in many cases children.  Indeed, I DO understand why some individuals choose to take their own lives as an alternative given the daunting journey coming out later in life entails.  One individual who has decided to take the plunge and be honest with himself and the world is former Pittsburgh Pirates owner and newspaper heir  Kevin McClathy.  In a column with Frank Bruni of the New York Times McClatchy (pictured above) talks about his decision to come out.  Here are some excerpts:

THE way Kevin McClatchy figured it, he had to choose. He could indulge his dream of presiding over a big-time professional sports team, or he could be open about his sexuality. The two paths didn’t dovetail.

He went with sports, and in February 1996, at the age of 33, became the youngest owner in major league baseball when he led a group of investors who bought the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the next 11 years, he was the team’s managing general partner and chief executive officer, not to mention its public face. And for all of that time, he took pains not to let his players, the owners of other teams or anyone beyond a tiny circle of family and close friends learn that he was gay. 

He stepped away from the Pirates in 2007, but it took five years for him to reach the point where he felt even remotely comfortable sitting down with a journalist, as he did with me recently at his home here, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, to talk about his private life. Secrecy is a hard habit to break. And the world of professional sports, to which he is still connected, isn’t exactly crowded with proud, out gay men and women. 

He once did some arithmetic. Over the last four decades, he said: “Tens of thousands of people have played either professional minor league baseball or major league baseball. Not one has come out and said that they’re gay while they’re playing.” Nor has any active player in the principal leagues of football, basketball or hockey, America’s three other major professional sports. That silence is a sobering  . . . 

McClatchy, whose interview with The Times was his first public acknowledgment of his sexual orientation, could do considerable good.

And pro sports offers a frontier on which there’s considerable good to be done. One reason there has been so much attention lately to statements about homosexuality, supportive and derogatory, from prominent male athletes is that they inhabit a stubborn bastion of reductively defined masculinity, and many impressionable kids take their cues from it. If its heroes make clear that being gay is O.K., the impact could be profound: fewer adolescents and teenagers bullied, fewer young and not-so-young adults leading stressful, painful double lives. 

McClatchy, 49, said that his took a toll. “I think I was more paranoid, for sure, about people,” he said. “And suspicious, definitely. And angry.” His serious romantic relationships with men were few and strained until he left sports, and his partner of the last four years, Jack Basilone, who shares his home here, told me that McClatchy remains guarded, wary.

McClatchy said, “I’m sure people will criticize me because I came out later, and I should have come out while I was in baseball and in the thick of it.” 

But, he added, “I could find excuses for why not to do this article until I’m blue in the face.”

“I’ve got a birthday coming up where I’m turning old,” he said, referring to his 50th, in January. “I’ve spent 30 years — or whatever the number is specifically — not talking about my personal life, lying about my personal life.” 

He shook his head. “There’s no way I want to go into the rest of my existence and ever have to hide my personal life again,” he said.

I wish him well and hope he finds the peace I found eventually.  The saddest thing in my view is those who spend their entire life in the closet and never know the feeling of self-acceptance.  I cannot image an entire life of lies and unhappiness and possible futile efforts to change the unchangeable.  

Quote of the Day: Minnesota Vikings' Chris Kluwe on Gay Marriage

While many in the world of pro-sports seem to sadly still wear homophobia as some type of sick badge of honor.  But thankfully, things are beginning to change and in Minnesota where the Christofascists are seeking to pass an anti-gay marriage amendment the Minnesota Vikings' Chris Kluwe (pictured at right) has been very outspoken in his opposition to the amendment and anti-gay bigotry in general.  He has a wonderful op-ed in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that rips the Christofascist thoroughly.  Kluwe certainly understands true morality and Christ's message far better than the charlatans in far too many pulpits and bishoprics who have hate and bigotry as their sole stock in trade.  Here are highlights from the op-ed:

I would like to share some of the things I thought were important from the Vote NO Mn gathering I attended this past Friday.

1. Gay people are exactly the same as straight people. They laughed, they yelled, they congratulated me on the Vikings winning, they told me they rooted for the Saints, they spilled beer on the floor and apologized for doing so. They asked for autographs, shook my hand, posed for pictures, and introduced me to their significant others. They talked about how excited they were for the Vikings season this year, how long they’ve been season ticket holders, and if I thought that Ponder kid was going to be any good (I said yes). At no point was I excessively fondled and at no time did a bacchanal riot threaten the chastity of my pant fasteners. In short, it was American citizens doing American activities in a quintessentially American way.

2. Gay people are not treated as American citizens. The amount of individuals who came up and thanked me and Brendon for taking a stand was staggering, and frankly depressing. I use the word depressing because for that many people to thank us for showing basic empathy, to thank us for recognizing that they are human beings just like everyone else, means that so many other people have not. What that says about our society makes me ill. . . .

3. One conversation I had that will stick with me for the rest of my life involved a local high school teacher/coach. He walked up, introduced himself, shook my hand and said these exact words: “I want to thank you for speaking up. What you did will save children’s lives.”   This really hit me, in a primal way I was not expecting. A man who interacts with our youth every day, who sees their struggles, and their triumphs, and their failures, told me that my words meant a child might find hope for the future instead of despair, might dare to believe he or she could be accepted for who they are, not what someone else said they should be.

A child should never think that suicide is the only option, the only solution to the tormenting and bullying and unthinking viciousness adults so unwittingly pass along to the young. A child should never become a casualty in a war of oppression, of bigotry, of petty small mindedness.

Because make no mistake, that child is a casualty. All the hopes, all the dreams, all the wonderful potentialities life has in store are as dust before the scouring winds of intolerance (whether it be racist, sexist, or religious). Every time you propagate the message that being gay is to be less than human, that same sex marriage cannot be as filled with love and laughter and tears as heterosexual marriage, that gays don’t deserve to pass a legacy on to their family, you quicken that howling storm and sweep away a tiny bit more humanity from the world, drive one more child to contemplating the cold razor’s bite, or the yawning abyss of the overdose because they simply cannot deal with the unceasing assault upon their psyche.

Well I, for one, will not stand for it. I will not stand for a world that demeans those it finds ‘different’ or ‘gross’. I will not stand for an ideology that promotes slavish adherence to a single arbitrary standard, that sacrifices children on the altar of oppression and control.

I stand for gay marriage. I stand for the end of segregation. I stand for a woman’s right to vote. I stand for equality under the law, for treating others how I want to be treated, for the fundamental human right to live a happy life free of tyranny.