Bravery or is there an ulterior motive?

Some blogger a friend shared made a few interesting points that evoke discussion.

One of them being how we claim our sexuality is not of anyone's business yet some people take it upon themselves to announce it to everyone.

Michael Sam had previously came out to his teammates a long time ago and no one really cared but it wasn't before the NFL draft that he decided to make it public, to ESPN and the New York Times.

So what do you think this all is ATRL?

One of the main reasons celebrities/people in the public eye come out in such a way is to help young people who may be struggling with their sexuality. It shows them that's it's okay to be gay and you can be openly gay and successful and happy. It also provides role models for lgbt youth. So I'm fine with it.

Well, it could have all went south for him , yes, he is the first openly gay football player, but it comes with negative backlash of course. Considering he risked his future, career, & his relationship with his father ....I say brave.

honestly, idk but i do think his reality show with oprah makes it look like it was an ulterior motive. the thing is, he went around saying he wants to be treated like a normal football player then agrees to have his life filmed. in addition, he agreed to do the show before he was drafted, but didn't inform the teams, so they are players, coaches, etc.. who feel deceived.

PLUS, he is just a seventh round draft pick, which means his chances of actually making the team or even getting any significant playing time is slim. he could have waited till next season or something.

edit: i meant waited till next season to do the show not come out. its great for the nfl he is out and proud.

Here's the blog

To be honest I don't agree much, like, we're not at a stage where coming out is nothing. Yes, you'll get praise, acceptance and all that but there's also a lot of hatred still.

Whatever his motive is/was, it's still good overall.

Now other LGBT athletes might be encouraged to come out, whether they're already recruited or not.

The argument falls apart from the start. "we" is an assumption. "we" does not represent everyone. If Michael Sam, or anyone else, chooses to make their sexuality as public as they want, they can. And there is nothing wrong with that. Sexuality can be private if you'd like. But it's not like it's something wrong that we have to keep out of everyone's line of vision.

It was less calculated than Frank Ocean's in my opinion

Ulterior motive.

Below average player using the gay card to carve a mediocre career.

Very good point!

I still don't understand why people think this. Frank wanted to address an aspect of his personal life in his music without skirting around the pronouns. I think he's a really genuine guy and that he does whatever he does for the music, not the bling ()

Um if somebody's insinuating he did this to help his career, you're wrong. After all, he is the FIRST openly gay person to get drafted into the NFL. It's not like he was following a trend, it was extremely risky and he received (pathetic) hate accordingly.

And we definitely need more Black celebrities to come out of the closet. Micheal coming out will help a lot of young boys (and girls).

Lol stop

He's getting a show with Oprah Damn O

If he had came out of the closet AFTER he got drafted, gays would've still found something to complain about.

And people are getting dragged for it (as they should) but I guess Sam knew it could go either way, but if it was going to work for him, it was going to go VERY well.