Guest Column: Left Tackle

The "other" Robert Sutton (not the former Army football coach, either) is still why I'm actually "Sr.".  As guest columnist today, I'd like to welcome back to the mic Jay Sutton (Robert, Jr.), whom I've known since he came into the world in Manassas, Virginia 34 years ago.  Jay is a Libertarian, a Web developer and a marvelous writer, which he likely gets from his mother.  He can be reached at jaiatillar@gmail.com.  

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Michael Sam, the professional football washout who was (let's face it) drafted for being gay has made the claim that he would still have a job in the NFL had he not gone public.  Many are responding to this statement with, in essence, "You wouldn’t have had the job to lose, had you not ..."  Like many… well most… pretty much all cases in life, both of these arguments are very correct -- and very wrong.

As my father, your normal author, is fond of saying, "Follow the money."  Sam was a decent player in college, with a few standout games to put him on the radar.  He simply didn’t have the stats to put him on the board as an actual drafted player. He did, however, have the stats to sign on as an undrafted talent -- and lend value to a team, likely on a practice squad or a backup’s backup.  

However, because of the free publicity the media attached to the "NFL's First Gay Player," his stats were foregone for his potential ad revenue.  If a team could squeeze even a few good plays out of the kid, he’d pay for himself and then some.  And as an added bonus, any team drafting him would get a free stamp of approval from the media for being progressive.

Now that we’ve explored the reasoning behind the draft, we must explore the reasoning behind the cut.  

Unfortunately for Sam, he didn’t have "the few good plays" in him.  That put the Rams, who spent the draft pick on him, in a difficult position: Cut Sam and chance the negative publicity, or keep him on and waste the cap room and a valuable roster position.  Sam's public fame wouldn't allow him to so easily fade into the obscurity of the practice squad.  If we once again play by FTM rules, you can see that cutting him was a "chance" of loss where keeping him was a definite loss.  They chose to cut him.

Returning to the present, we have Sam drafted because he was gay and cut because the media wouldn't let the public forget it.  In other words, we have a man neither drafted nor cut on the basis of his talent.  Is there a similar story anywhere about a man being judged by his media presence rather than his on-field ability?  

Oh yes.  Remember Tim Tebow?

Tim Tebow is a professional football washout who garnered a great deal of media attention for his faith.  While it had little to no effect on his draft number, it had a great deal of effect on his post-Manning career.  You see, Tebow was a mediocre NFL talent at quarterback, who would have had some value as a backup or third-stringer.  The media, however, found out about his personal faith and decided he would be their go-to Christian on very non-football topics.  Where Sam would earn a team points for being progressive, teams associated with Tebow (and, not inconsequentially, the corporate sponsors of the team and stadium) would be indelibly linked to his statements.  Very quickly, teams stopped taking that chance.

So we have a not-quite-NFL-caliber gay man, and a not-quite-prime-time caliber devout quarterback, both without jobs. 

Then you have a convicted felon who has served time, playing on the field tonight.  The person I am talking about, of course, is Michael Vick.  Vick, as anyone not on Mars for the past several years knows, was arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed for dog-fighting.  While many people out there claim he took the fall for his brother, the far-greater majority simply see him as a dog killer.  Michael Vick,  a now-second string talent with felony canicide on his record, has a job in the NFL.

But why?  Why would someone with a criminal past be a justifiable risk, while an outspoken Christian and a gay man are not?  The answer is twofold.  Vick has several years of NFL experience prior to his arrest, and those years are valuable.  That experience gives him a tremendous edge over Tebow or Sam as a second stringer or practice squad guy, even if all talent between them were equal.

The other answer is that Vick's drawback is momentary and in the past.  He can repent for what he's done, whereas Tebow and Sam cannot change who they are.  And while the media will never let us forget a public figure's private life, they adore a story of a bad man turning his life around.  So while Vick, Tebow, and Sam all bring with them tremendous media scrutiny, they don't bring with them the same risks along with that scrutiny.

Which brings us all the way back to the original question:  Would Michael Sam have a job in the NFL if he hadn't come out as gay?

The answer is possibly.  But none of us would know about it.

 Copyright 2015 by Jay Sutton

 Like what you read here?  There's a new post from Bob at www.uberthoughtsUSA.com at 10am Eastern time, every weekday, giving new meaning to "prolific essayist."  Sponsorship and interview inquiries cheerfully welcomed at bsutton@alum.mit.edu.