What's that say about our society that this is somehow a "circus/distraction" similar to what vick did or even te'o?
You won't get any argument from me on that. The fact that our society is such that Tim Tebow being a devout and out spoken Christian or Michael Sam being gay is going to garner so much attention and focus that that it becomes a major distraction to the team....but doesn't happen for a player who, for instance, killed someone while drunk driving is unfortunate and sad. But things being unfortunate and sad doesn't magically mean they don't exist.
The reality is Tim Tebow's outspoken Christianity has garnered him a massive following, which causes the media to salivate over coverage of him, which causes clubs to stay away from him. The reality is Michael Sam being the first openly gay player to potentially come into the NFL, which is a major social and political story on top of the sports story to it, and is going to garner massive attention for significant time for the simple impact it has in the realm of civil rights in this country.
Though I will say again, Vick
was a circus and distraction. The man still had the athletic ability and talent to be one of the best QB's in the league at the time he tried to come back into the NFL, as evidenced by his borderline MVP season the following year. Yet the only team that would make a significant move on him was one with an established veteran QB and a "waiting in the wings" young drafted backup that had a coach who had been in place for more than a decade; and even then, it was as a third stringer. The potential "distraction" of Mike Vick absolutley cost him in terms of what teams would take a chance on him and to what degree.
I'll clarify again, I'm not saying Michael Sam doesn't get drafted (I'd be SHOCKED). I'm not saying Michael Sam shouldn't be drafted. I'm not even saying
I as a GM, specifically of the Redskins, wouldn't draft him.
What I am saying is there are likely teams that would either take him off their board, or down grade him, because they're going to take the distraction into account...and there's nothing wrong with that imho. No more wrong than teams largely ignoring Tebow. But as I said, it only takes one team to decide that they CAN handle it. And if/when he falls farther in the draft and presents better value, the amount of teams willing to take that chance will continue to improve.
It would be illegal and something they can and should get sued for.
Ridiculous.
It'd be unreasonable and illegal if they were doing it BECAUSE he's gay. just like it'd be unreasonable and illegal if they were doing it to Tebow BECAUSE he's a christian.
However, that's not the reason in most cases. It's the media attention and hoopla that's likely to become attached to the situation and the player that is going to drive some teams away till later in the draft, or permanently. And there's nothing illegal about that, nor unreasonable. In the wrong locker room distractions and constant media pressure and attention can be damaging; I've witnessed it first hand multiple times here in Washington. It's ENTIRELY reasonable to take that into account when signing players. It's also entirely reasonable to take REALITY into account as opposed to gun drops and rainbows of what "should" garner massive public attention.