|
Any NFL team that drafts Michael Sam will be taking on much more than a rookie pass-rusher. cheap nfl jerseys . But experts say the smart approach for a team that signs the leagues first openly gay athlete -- from a marketing and public relations standpoint -- is to simply let Sams on-field play speak for him and his team. "While this is a significant announcement given the sport, the general hope is that hes just accepted as one of the other men on the roster, and therefore his marketability is still simply tied to his ability to play well on the field and ultimately make the team," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. Sam declared Sunday that he is gay in interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports. The Missouri All-American had already come out last August to his coaches and teammates, who respected his privacy. Now Sam is entering uncharted territory as he prepares for the NFL draft. The SECs co-defensive player of the year was projected to be a mid-round selection. At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Sam will likely have to transition to outside linebacker, which could impact where hes drafted. But announcing hes gay could also have an impact on his draft status. "Im not naive to think there arent potentially some owners or executives out there who will say, Eh, Im not so sure now." said Golden State Warriors President and Chief of Operations Rick Welts, who came out publicly in 2011. "But also, I hope, there are a lot who would say, Theres an opportunity to do something that I think our fans would actually embrace. And if were supposed to win football games, if this guy helps us win football games, thats somebody we should have on our roster." Sam, 24, joins a growing list of active athletes to publicly come out, including Robbie Rogers, a winger for Major League Soccers Los Angeles Galaxy, and Brittney Griner, who plays for the WNBAs Phoenix Mercury. Conner Mertens, a kicker for Division III Willamette University, came out as bisexual late last month, and is believed to have been the first active college football player to publicly announce his sexuality. Griner, as one of the WNBAs brightest stars, was the centerpiece of the Mercurys marketing campaign. She also made a point of supporting causes that are important to her. "There was nothing about her that was difficult in marketing. We supported what she wanted to do with bullying and the LGBT community. We made those connecting points," said Amber Cox, president of the Mercury before leaving to go to the Big East last fall. Nike has also thrown support to LGBT athletes, signing both Griner and Jason Collins, a former NBA player who came out last year, to sponsorship deals, and launching its "Be True" campaign. Profits from the .BeTrue collection are being donated to the LGBT Sports Coalition to support the goal of ending discrimination in sport. Mark Elderkin of the Gay Ad Network, an online media platform for national advertisers, said NFL teams need only look at Sams track record. "Theyre going to make their choices based on who the best college athletes are. And theyre going to choose Michael if they deem him the best pick. So, I think they need to focus on the facts, and his performance over the years, his All-America status and everything hes done for Missouri," Elderkin said. "Also his relationships with the fans, and with the positive energy he has around his teammates and their full support, shows that hes not going to be disruptive to the team in any way, but is going to add value." But its still a reality that gay athletes face a backlash. Derogatory comments were easily found among the positive posts on social media and other online commentary following Sams announcement. A Pew Research survey last year of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults in the U.S. found that just 4 per cent saw pro sports leagues as friendly toward LGBT people, while 59 per cent saw the leagues as unfriendly and 36 per cent saw them as neutral. Still, even over the past year there have been significant overall victories in gay and lesbian rights, most notably two U.S. Supreme Court decisions in June. One ruling cleared the way for ending a ban on same-sex marriages in California; the other struck down a 1996 law passed by Congress that banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages. It remains to be seen how growing tolerance extends to the NFL playing field. "I think the point thats being made in a lot of the discussion is, Lets just move on," Swangard said. "If the guy makes a team, then he makes the team. His sexual orientation shouldnt be the story." cheap jerseys from china . The import DB was taken to a nearby hospital after catching his head awkwardly trying to tackle Winnipeg running back Will Ford in the first quarter of the game at the Rogers Centre. nfl jerseys china . Kitna told The Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/1aaJ38v ) of his plans Wednesday. Kitna retired after the 2011 season, his 15th in the league, and was coaching football at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. TORONTO -- Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey knows his starters can not play the entire game. But after Sundays loss to the Denver Nuggets, he probably wishes they could. The Nuggets reserves came off the bench to outscore their Raptors counterparts 72-16 as Denver pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable 112-98 win before 16,290 fans at Air Canada Centre. "Our bench has got to give us something," Casey told reporters after Toronto (6-10) lost its third straight. "Our guys (starters) cant play for 48 (minutes), so weve got to get production from our bench. "The guys coming in have got to develop a toughness, a resilience of getting stops. And, it starts on the defensive end. In the second half, they shot it well but we didnt make them feel us." The 72 bench points conceded is the worst in Raptors history, exceeding the 69 points surrendered to the Chicago Bulls in a loss on Jan. 25, 2006. Diminutive guard Nate Robinson led the way for Denver (10-6) with 23 points off the bench. The 5-foot-9 veteran hit five three-pointers on the afternoon, including back-to-back shots from beyond the arc with just over two minutes to go, as the Nuggets coasted to their sixth straight win. In addition to Robinsons team-high 23 points, three other Denver players had double-digit point totals off the bench, including Timofey Mozgov with 16, Darrell Arthur with 14 and Jordan Hamilton with 10. Rudy Gay led the way for the Raptors with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Finishing 1-3 on their longest home stand of the season, the Raptors now head out West for the next week, visiting the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. "Personally, Im frustrated. Period," said Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 17 ppoints.wholesale jerseys. "Weve just got to figure it out and turn it around on the road. "Its correctable but we shouldnt have to keep doing the same thing over and over before we realize that we are doing something wrong. We have to understand what were doing out the gate and correct it." Casey shuffled his line-up, inserting Tyler Hansbrough into the starting rotation in place of a struggling Amir Johnson. And, the initial results were positive, as the Raptors came out flying, opening up a 15-point lead eight minutes into the first quarter on the strength of a swarming defence and some deadly accurate field goal shooting. DeRozan hit his first four shots and Lowry sunk his initial two attempts from beyond the three-point arc. But the Nuggets went on a 13-4 run over the final 3:56 of the first quarter to cut the lead to 31-25. Denver led 47-45 at the half and had a 76-72 lead after a see-saw third quarter that featured four lead changes. In addition to lamenting his bench being outplayed, Casey also said the Raptors didnt pass the ball enough. "We had only 18 assists, they had 29," he said. "And, thats where it starts in the offensive end. "We talked about the defensive end but the offensive end, weve got to start trusting the pass." Gay said despite three straight losses, the Raptors are not getting down on themselves. "If we want to win, we have to make the right adjustments," he said. "Lets not get crazy," Gay said when asked if there might need to be some dramatic shake-up with the team. "They hit some tough shots and we made them hit some tough shots. We made them move the ball around, which is our defensive principle. We cant look at ourselves like we are just terrible. "We made some strides today but we can be better." cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
