Michael Sam announces he's gay; Anonymous NFL Execs remain out of touch

News breaks that All-American DE Michael Sam from Missouri announced to the nation that he was openly gay.

Although this is news to us now, this news was broken by Sam in the Missouri locker room in August.

The fact that the teammates kept this quiet throughout the season is very impressive. Also, it didn't seem to affect the locker room. After all, they did make an appearance in the SEC Championship game.

However, 8 anonymous NFL execs seem to think otherwise.

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"I don't think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet," said an NFL player personnel assistant. "In the coming decade or two, it's going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it's still a man's-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It'd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room."

You could look at what happened between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin and see a little validity in this statement. However, hasn't the Missouri locker room already proven that an issue like this wouldn't be a burden?

"I just know with this going on this is going to drop him down," said a veteran NFL scout. "There's no question about it. It's human nature. Do you want to be the team to quote-unquote 'break that barrier?'"

Some projections have Michael Sam anywhere from late 1st Round to possibly 4th. Of course, if he does drop below, a potential media firestorm of outrage is possible. One that would make the conversation about AJ McCarron's draft projections look like child's play.

You could look at the Jason Collins story and saw much hesitation from NBA teams to pick him up. Could it have been because of the media circus that would come with it? Or maybe there wasn't a slot for a career journeyman forward/center.

Obviously, there would be a media circus for any team that drafts Michael Sam. But, what does it say for theses eight anonymous NFL sources? Are they reluctant because of fan reaction or are they out of touch with the cultural shift in social issues?

Yes, there will be sprinkles of bigotry, it's expected. However, most people around my age look at this as it's not a big deal.

There will be some who will put Michael Sam on a pedestal. However, I think the only thing Michael Sam wants is to play football and not live a life of secrecy.

I don't think that's too much to ask for. Best of luck to Michael Sam.