This isn’t necessarily a good piece of news coming out from multiple sources as the NFL regular season gets going. According to Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback, the National Football League called multiple teams after Michael Sam was released by the St. Louis Rams asking them if they considered signing him to their practice squad.
According to King…
The Rams waived Michael Sam, the first openly gay player trying to make an NFL roster, he was unemployed for two days…During that time a league official contacted multiple teams asking if they had evaluated Sam as a probable practice squad player.
Not only is this a kick in the face to those (Sam included), who think that he should be treated equally, it speaks volumes about how the NFL views the rookie from Missouri. Anything to gain an advantage in the PR game, I guess.
It’s also a major issue for other players who were looking to catch on to a practice squad roster after final cuts last weekend. Why give Sam preferential treatment and stray away from a policy of avoiding player personnel decisions?
If the NFL really is intent on progressing the league towards the acceptance of openly gay football players, it needs to stop treating Sam like he’s a fish out of water.
At the very least, it doesn’t seem like the Dallas Cowboys are preparing to treat Sam any differently. And that’s a good thing moving forward.
Photo: USA Today