A day after NFL hopeful Michael Sam comes out as gay, First Lady Michelle Obama tweets he is an “inspiration to all of us, couldn’t be prouder of your courage both on and off the field.” Hello Lady O! Michael Sams publicly announcing he’s gay is a non-issue. This writer believes there are bigger issues our FLOTUS needs to focus her energy on than an athlete’s sexuality.
Sam informed his Mizzou teammates in August 2013 he was gay. It wasn’t a big deal then, it isn’t a big deal now. It’s certainly doesn’t warrant the attention of the White House. Gays and lesbians are employed in undoubtedly every workforce, major league sports are no exception.
Can we all agree on this point and stop making it into such a big deal every time an athlete comes out? In 2013, NBA baller Jason Collins broke the mold when he announced his sexual preference while still active in the league. More than a decade prior, former NFL baller Esera “Mr Aloha” Tavai Tuaolo confirmed he was gay when he came out on HBO’s “Real Sports.”
Art is imitating life. Late author E. Lynn Harris made the subject of the gay macho man palatable in the mid-to-late 1990s. Writing about macho homosexual characters – football players, basketball players and high net worth executives – who loved each other garnered him 10-time New York Times best-sellers. For many of us, it opened our eyes.
So Sam coming out in 2014 is not news.
Perhaps, the @FLOTUS would be best served highlighting the Let’s Move campaign which celebrated it’s four-year anniversary on Sunday, Feb. 9 or even being “inspired” by the “courage” to open the world’s first clitoral repair hospital for victims of female genital mutilation (FGM). The “Kamkaso” – the house for women – located in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso will open on March 7. It’s an epic move but @FLOTUS’s status on this subject? Crickets.
