MU President Steps Down, Football Team Steps Up

Some call it the Ferguson effect while others thinks its a full fledged revolt from the prisoners.

In this uniquely special scenario, the prisoners are the primary source of revenue for the entire institution, and they are actually in a position to quit work without retribution.

That was the case when 32 of the University of Missouri football team players decided that they had to take a stand relative to the matter of racial inequality on the campus. I mention those 32 because even the head coach and the rest did not get on board until it was clear that they couldn't play without 32 teammates.

Apparently, Mizzou is the type of campus where an occasional poop swastika gets smeared on the walls of the campus as a mean message of hate towards those who walk the campus in Columbia, MO with a little to much melanin.  Hearing shouts of nigger are also a part of campus life.

When such matters were presented as a grievance, now former campus president Tim Wolfe has been quoted as saying that the matter of racial intolerance on campus was mostly a matter of "perspective".  When students attempted to block president Wolfe's car after a homecoming parade in an effort to force him to address their grievances, he did not exit his car and had the students removed by arrest instead.

 News reports seemed to present an unruly student body that could not break the will of Wolfe who steadfastly refused to step down despite repeated requests to do so.

Suddenly, there became a threat of no football.  In the wake of Wolfe's recent relent, we've come to discover that campuses all over the land have feared this day, when football players would recognize the power of their position and make a strong economic play towards change.

In the wake of Wolfe's recent relent, we've also discovered that most campuses consistently keep football players and other big sport athletes free and clear of the general public on campus.  They have a special tunnel to access special meals and special dorms that keep them special and separate from the normal folks on campus.  In effect, they have buffered them from the problems that plague everybody else.

Until now.

Now, the money machine has forced the decision makers to move to keep the money machine up an running.  It would be awesome to imagine that this change was addressed on the merit of moral impact and not economic impact.  In reality, morality did not play a single role at all, at least not as it relates to those who finally fixed this problem.

The Wolfe Is Gone!

In other words, the institutional failures that make MANY college campuses racially unsavory are widespread and still unchanged.  My daughter, who attended school at a nearby school in Missouri, almost dropped out of her really expensive private university as a result of the weight of racial imbalance that she endured for four years of schooling.

The school of Michael Sam, the first openly gay football
player, has now disrupted the national racial Richter scale.
Will other big sports schools follow suit or do major
sports universities move to make the racial fixes first?
Stay tuned. 

On that campus, it was nearly shock causing for anyone to meet my daughter and accept that she was there on an academic scholarship and not to play sports.  By the time she exited her campus and the state of Missouri for the last time, she felt like making a t-shirt with words on both sides of it reading:

"NO!  I do not play on the basketball team.

At that campus, a sports revolt might not have had the same impact because sports are not to the money generators that they are on big time campuses.  At that campus, however, black students have complained like they complain all over the land, even before the shake up at Mizzou.

So, for the mass majority and for a little while longer, nothing is likely to change much at all. Yet, at Mizzou and every school with a similar racial issue, the die has been cast and the blueprint is complete. If you really want to turn things right side up, you might need to turn it upside down and shake a little. If nothing 
happens right away, keep shaking 
until it does.

Michael Sam Signs Secret Doc' Deal With OWN Before NFL Draft Began

I realize that life is not quite an episode of South Park, even if it pretends to take place in my beloved home, Colorado (Southpark, not life). However, the recent episode of Michael Sam has me imagining an old episode of South Park.

"South Park Is Gay" is an extreme exaggeration of the popularity of gaydom...... but is it?

Ellen started it all and now it feels like everyone wants to be the next Ellen in their chosen field of expertise.  Was it right for Michael Sam to come out to the world but remain quiet about his intention to let Oprah tell his story?  It was not only right, it was the only way to accomplish his mission.

Let's think about this.

Who in the hell was going to make sure they tuned in to see the first openly gay college/pro potential athlete if Michael Sam did not do the first wave of publicity, coming out to the entire world.  If he had not announced himself as being gay before he announced his documentary deal for the OWN network, we would have had to discover Michael Sam and his story all at the same time. He would probably not have fallen to the last man in the 2014 draft if he chose to keep his mouth shut, but in the bigger monetary reality, Michael Sam had to do advance marketing for this joint venture with Oprah or the success of his documentary would have likely mirrored that of Oprah's struggling network; watched by some, but largely ignored by most.

When was this deal actually signed is the question of the day?

To the credit of Oprah and Michael Sam, the move was absolute brilliance.....as it relates to business.  It also might not turn out to be so bad for the business of being gay.  Of course being gay has nothing to do with making money or exploiting business opportunities.  The fact that so many television shows seem to wish to explore gay sexuality on camera is simply a sign of the times.........right? The fact that Oprah decided to delay the documentary until Michael Sam actually makes the team is as unusual as the undisclosed deal for the last pick in the draft.  This is as much about being gay as it is about being able to see opportunity when it presents itself.

The recent college basketball player who decided to come out had to be inspired by Michael Sam or by Jason Collins of the NBA.  He had to find fear in his decision but liberation in his courage to tell the world......right?  There isn't a chance that he is the evidence of another twisted episode of Southpark .......right? Could the popularity of those who have come out be creating a magnet for others to do the same?

Could we be witnessing the beginning of a nearly fad like wave of gay declarations from the world of sports?  Like afro's and curly afro perm's, or daisy dukes and rap music, being gay is growing to a dimension of near distortion.  We are entering a realm in which it is hardly clear whether or not one is "Really" gay or really interested in profiting from the popularity of being openly seen as gay.

If you need a real life example of what I am talking about take Michael Sam as exhibit A.  Sam realizes that timing is not only important in football, but it is also important in pre-documentary introductions.  If he did not tell you that he was a gay man, then his Jackie Robinson of gay people status would not have come to be.  Yet, saying that you are gay and really being gay is starting to be as hard to determine as it was for the South Park kids in the gay episode.

Part of the marketing of Michael Sam included another interesting first.  During draft announcements over the years I have seen heterosexuals do a lot of interesting things upon learning that they have been chosen.  Some cry and then kiss their mom, others kiss their mom and put on a hat and cry.  I might have seen a few girlfriends get camera coverage during a draft party, I may have even seen a few get and give a congratulatory kiss from time to time, but in my mind, this is not a common thing for college players to do on camera.  I have NEVER seen such an orchestrated embrace for the LAST pick in the draft.

To me, this was nothing more than further marketing of his true gaydom.  A joyous man,especially an Italian one, might kiss his dad on the lips when receiving such incredible news.  I would imagine that metro-sexual Carpman from the "Southpark is Gay" episode found man pecks to be the newest fad as well.  The Michael Sam kiss was more than a simple expression of joy, it was proof of being gay; something that never mattered back when no one wanted to be called gay or had the courage to come out prior to the NFL draft and an Oprah documentary.

I am not mad at gay's for being the new black.  For a good little while, being black actually got a bunch of black guy's hired in the NBA, a league of mostly black guys.  Among the most recent NBA hires, black coaches have not done well.  The much beleaguered Donald Sterling (owner of the LA Clippers) actually hired one of the few black guys that the NBA hiring system hasn't run off, even though Sterling is considered a shameful racist.  The NBA may not be the worst of the professional leagues relative to race, but they certainly are  not without racial blemish. My hunch is that Sterling's comments had more to do with the person that they were leveled at (rich, beloved black man, Magic Johnson) and less to do with the shock and awe of the utterance.  These days it is becoming more dangerous to be found homophobic than racist.

Gay is the new Black, and just as it was cool once upon a time ago to be Bill Cosby and have a bunch of smart and proud black kids doing regular American stuff on T.V., now it is cooler to be proudly gay.  Not that it doesn't demand a lot of courage to live your truth. It does. Somehow in today's world, such bravery is beyond liberating.  It potentially comes with tangible rewards, and being the first gay......"whatever" is easily worth a television show, a sitcom or an LGBT lifetime achievement award.

Thanks to the confession of Michael Sam, we all know him to be a proud gay man.  His college transcripts say he has the mettle to be an NFL player and possibly deserved to be drafted higher than the last pick in the draft.  Most importantly, we have discovered that Michael Sam (and Oprah) is no fool, and maybe a shrewd businessman in addition to the other things we know about him for certain. If Michael Sam turns out to be the kind of football player he (and the film) says he can be, then his business moves will be an asset to his career and to the furtherance of gay rights.

If Michael Sam can't live up to the hype that he has created, his business moves will be his death nail. After all, he is the last pick in the draft.

Black History Month Is About Courage. Courage Like Jackie Robinson, Michael Sam, Jason Collins

Jason Collins and Michael Sam and Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn are emblematic of the courage that is the story behind Black History Month.  I could indulge in the morality of homosexuality as a significant aspect of this post.  If so many did not consider this a moral issue, this would not be a story.  Stripping away the morality divide we find an opportunity to see this story through the lens of history's example.

There was a time when black American's found themselves enraged by the notion that my skin color is an equivalent to your sexual inclinations. Now, the debate over our ability to choose our sexuality is also insignificant with the perfect clarity that we gain from hindsight.

In hindsight we know that my nature, whether chosen or not, is no match to your preconceived bigotry.  When Arizona decides to legislate the right of any business in its state to refuse service to gay people, then we return to the day in which restaurants and water fountains have "straight only" signs instead of "white only" signs.

If that doesn't reinforce the importance of legislation against such laws, than I won't try any longer because this post is about the courage of being your authentic self, whatever that may be.  Jackie Robinson is more than just an historic figure for integrating baseball.  Robinson was the best of his era and one of the best of all time.  He could have relegated his talents to the confines of the Negro leagues as other all-time greats had to do. It would have certainly meant less death threats even if less income potential as well. Yet, his risk was a two-fold investment.

The Brooklyn Dodgers and legendary Branch Rickey had to accept the business risk that Robinson represented.  The Brooklyn Nets had to do the same with Collins recently as they signed him to a 10 day contract to see if he can help them through a run of injuries. Reports have surfaced that several teams were interested in bringing Collins in during preseason, but were afraid of the media impact.

What very few people knew is that Collins apparently had similar hesitation and refused to go to any team that did not have a serious interest in giving him a REAL chance.  Brooklyn reprented the first chance for him to work within a clear professional basketball agreement.  Collins made it clear that evern if he never got a job again, he declared, "life has been so good for me since coming out".  Onlookers were watchful to see if  Collins had gained a couple of extra inches in his vertical jump with the reduced weight on his shoulder.

How you feel about homosexuality should not impact your opinion of Jason Collins the basketball player.  If you cheered for his efforts before you knew his truth then keep on cheering.  In the end, his game is all that will keep him employed anyway.  Jason Collins is not in the NBA to be a pioneer of gay rights.  Michael Sam has a similar sentiment.

Like Jackie Robinson, they just need the "You're Not Allowed" signs to be removed.

NFL Has The Rooney Rule Already. Is The Michael Sam Rule Next?

If acquired in the spring draft, Michael Sam
will be the first NFL player to be openly gay.

There was a time in American history that a black man had a difficult time getting an opportunity at an NFL head coaching job, even though hundreds of black men had long since dominated on the football field.  During the era of affirmative action, it became clear that our efforts to balance the scale may have some impact over education and scholarship opportunities, but there is nothing in the world that can force a person to hire any person that they are not comfortable with hiring. Sorry Michael Sam.

Society has established anti-discrimination laws in so many areas of our world because we need them.  Legislative equality doesn't really work as well as we would hope, but it does acknowledge the truth that no person declares while brushing their teeth in the morning.  We are all racist.

We are all racist, or sexist, or homeless-ist, or handicapped people with disabillities-ist, and age-ist as well.  Many of us are a combination of them all and can hardly stand to be in the presence of anyone that doesn't conform to our world view.  We are all well conditioned by-products of the world that created us, even those of us who fight the right to stereotype.

My white friends who were raised in the mostly black and hispanic neighborhoods of my youth had to notice, as we all took the same history class, that history mostly depicted white man as Abraham Lincoln or George Washington and mostly depicted blacks as slaves or entertainers. Asians and Hispanics and every other race also get characterized by stereotypes that play out (often negatively) in how we deal (or don't deal) with one another.  If our hearts were inclined towards seeing the best in humanity, our stereotypes would be just that.  Unfortunately, our victimizer or victim way of life can easily uncover evidence of man's inhumanity towards man, especially our ism's.

Title 9, which seeks to insure equality in college athletics for women, is our acceptance that we have mistreated women. This law will be a token of our shame for as long as we need it.  Affirmative action, in its many forms and fashions is a similar admission of shame.  In the NFL, this shame is called the Rooney rule.

According to the Rooney rule, black candidates have to get an interview for open  head coaching positions before they are filled.  Undoubtedly, this has given one black coach or another an opportunity to secure a position that they may not have secured otherwise.  Undoubtedly, the Rooney rule has also made each black coaching candidate think twice about the real opportunity of a token interview.

Michael Sam should get a job without a difficult challenge.  He is a natural leader, a naturally hard working athlete who's reputation for making plays is a significant part of his value to NFL teams.  Michael Sam had to realize that he was taking a chance when he decided not to go back into a closet just for the sake of more money.   In fact, if he is given a fair shake, he could be the Ellen of the NFL; that gay guy who is the best of the outed world that gains a mega-following as a result.  Sam could, and just might spearhead a revolution in sports that allows for others to follow as he gets branded as the poster child for social change.  Michael Sam might  have already changed the gay pro sports world as we know it because of his daring move.

As long as he gets a REAL chance to make an NFL opening day roster.

After the Tim Tebow media circus, will Sam become the gay equivalent?  Will the potential for a media circus either scare teams from taking a chance or scare them from keeping it alive when the circus comes to their town?  Michael Sam could easily be the unfortunate victim of gayism, or homophobia since gayism is not yet a word, but it is one of our other ism's.

Before the NBA came up with a reasonable option for women's basketball, they continued to linger on the edge of that first discrimination suit from that one woman who played way too good to be denied a chance at the league.  Ann Meyers got a look and so did Brittany Griner.  Cheryl Miller probably could have tested the limits with the mad game that she possessed, but she probably knew the reality of a legitimate chance. Who is to determine what is a legitimate chance, and how do we force a team to take that chance with their franchise at stake?  Michael Sam is facing a similar hurdle in the long run, and only his excellence on the field will make this a moot point.

There is something about Michael Sam that tells me he expects such excellence from himself, or he would have never gone down the road that only pioneers (insert excellence) travel.

Michael Sam Announces He's Gay. Why Did Michael Sam Avoid The Easy Way Out?

Michael Sam is a really good linebacker who just graduated from the University of Missouri.

He is gay.

Apparently his team has known for some time now, but the world at large is getting this announcement now because Sam is preparing for the draft and he is likely to get a real shot at the league.  In reality, this is exactly what we have been waiting for in this journey.  A gay man that is both out and elite at his craft.  Jason Collins (the NBA center who came out last year) is an okay player, but not worth the risk of an uncertain locker room.

Michael Sam could be good enough for gay not to matter.  For certain some team will take a chance to find out, but has he hurt himself of helped himself with this revelation?

The obvious answer is both.

Michael Sam has taken advantage of an evolution in the world landscape.  The time is ripe for those who have lived within this lie to find their truth.  Sam would be smothered to pick back up the heavy weight that he dropped when he informed his Missouri Tiger team that he was gay.  He is unafraid to declare his truth because he has seen the dark side already, and it is not in the realm of truth.  With all of the difficulties of living in a world still so intolerant, living a lie is worse.  To this end, Sam has helped himself.

He has not helped his marketability much at all.  This guy plays like a ferocious beast and when the highlights of his exploits on the field started to accompany his announcement to the world, I thought about my Broncos and their upcoming need to improve the defensive front 7. Michael Sam is not Tim Tebow, but he might draw a similar interest soon.   Probably one that John Elway would rather do without.

If other GM's and owners look at the tape and say yes, but think about their immature locker room and say no, that will cost Sam in the pocketbook.  Some marketing executive could look at the way he performs on the field and think he would be a great spokesperson......if he weren't gay.  The truth is that Michael Sam made a decision that he knows, more than anyone, will cost him some loot.

That is what makes this declaration more impressive.  This young man had the opportunity to take the easy road and get his money first.  He had a chance to make a name for himself and then be the face of the big named gay athlete later.  He could have chosen the easy way out.

Just as long as he carried that thousand pound weight around along the way.
Yeah.  The easy way out.