Now that you know where I'm coming from, probably the most balanced of anyone out there, it's time to bring my head out from the wall I just slammed in through. Florida State sophomore defensive end DeMarcus Walker sent out a tweet that bothered me not from a gay/not gay standpoint or a religious standpoint.
It struck me because it made zero sense.
"Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian. Smh
I'm all for freedom of speech. However lumping everyone into one side or another is unfair to those who didn't mock Tebow for being a Christian or praise Sam for being gay. Some people, myself included, looked at both situations for what they are and were.
For Tim Tebow, he was one of the most impressive college quarterbacks in a spread offense in college football history. Key words: college and spread offense. Urban Meyer, Tebow's head coach at Florida, did not run a pro style offense and had he been in a pro style offense I don't believe the results would be the same.
Tebow, thanks to Skip Bayless, ESPN and other media outlets, was selected in the 1st round, No.25 overall by the Denver Broncos. In reality he was selected about four rounds too early. If you remove Tim Tebow and then leave the body of work and call him John Q Quarterback he goes in the fifth or sixth round.
The Broncos, in that scenario, would realize he doesn't fit their system and he becomes just another fifth/sixth round pick to be cut, which happens every year and no one makes a big deal of it. But because he was a first-round pick the Broncos traded him to the Jets for a fourth and sixth round pick. Tebow wouldn't be drafted in the fifth round because he is a Christian.
If that was the case there would be a lot of picks forfeited because a fair amount of every draft has prospects who are devout in their faith. The people that were annoyed with Tim Tebow because of his faith are people that don't believe in faith or they have their own individual reason. That was not the majority of NFL fans.
The Jets and Patriots did not cut Tebow because he was devout in faith. They cut him because he simply is not built to be in the NFL. He's not a starting quarterback, he's a second or third string quarterback at best.
The problem with Tebow was he was hyped too much by the mainstream media and he was not what was being sold. Leading up to the 2010 NFL Draft everything you heard was Tebow, Tebow, Tebow and....Tim Tebow.
The 2014 NFL Draft was Manziel, Manziel, Clowney, Manziel. Neither of those names are Michael Sam.
Michael Sam was projected between the 4th and 7th round and once he came out as the first openly gay player that changed absolutely nothing about where he would go. Now, having said that, being the first openly gay player in the NFL is monumental and something that won't ever be forgotten.
Sam went in the 7th round, No.249 overall, to the St. Louis Rams. The round fit for his skills, the team fit based on need and location. It was a perfect ending to one aspect of the story and the start to first chapter in a new book.
It wasn't New York. It wasn't Dallas. It wasn't Miami. It was 126 miles away from Colombia, Missouri, where Sam went to college. St. Louis. Not a big media market. It's also a market that knows his story and has been told already.
Sam will probably have his story stick for a couple days this week as he makes the rounds and then he will be a 7th round pick with a great story and an opportunity to make a career in the NFL.
Tim Tebow was out in front about his faith. Nothing wrong with that. I watch about seven or eight players go into the end zone before each Washington home game, get down on one knee, "Tebowing" and then finish their warmups. Yet that doesn't make the game story or pre-game/post-game notes.
The fact is it's America. Tebow was overblow in every aspect by mainstream media. Sam, however, has not been. Yet his story is more rare and more impactful. Society is still working the kinks out and there will always be people who don't like homosexuality and there will also be people who don't like those who are out there with their faith.
That's just a fact.
The key is finding a balance. Michael Sam has shown to provide the power of his story without being the No.1 topic before and after the draft. It's a touchy subject for most. Nothing is perfect.
But please, lets save the Tim Tebow vs Michael Sam debate. It's not a debate.
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