Only six days ago, owner Stan Kroenke, COO Kevin Demoff, head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead were convinced they were doing the right thing for the Rams organization, for a high-motor player overlooked too long within the NFL draft, perhaps for society as a whole.
Wonder what the Rams think today?
It’s been less than a week since the Rams exercised the draft’s 249th overall pick on Missouri defensive end and SEC co-defensive player of the year Michael Sam.
Sam told the world in February that he is gay. He originally hoped to postpone the disclosure until after last weekend’s draft but media forces intervened. Much ado was made about how Sam’s sexual orientation would affect his draft status. He slid, either because of his disclosure, because of unimpressive performances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, or because of some combination. The Rams drafted him at a position where they have little need because they thought him undervalued.
Sam told the Rams on Saturday that he only wants to be a football player. The Rams believed him and publicly insisted he’d be treated as any other seventh-round pick.
“We’ve already talked to Michael and his people and told them he’s here to play football,” Snead told the Post-Dispatch before Sam appeared at a Tuesday press conference.
This wasn’t to be about overtly promoting someone’s Agenda or Cause. It was about playing football for the Rams, who according to Fisher are willing to examine every possible way (special teams, novel rush packages, etc.) Sam can contribute. It sounded too simple to be true.
Turns out it was.
The Rams learned Sunday what the NFL knew before the draft: Sam had agreed to allow the Oprah Winfrey Network to produce a “docu-series” on his journey to an NFL roster. Unbelievably, the league had signed off on the project unbeknownst to its 32 member teams.
If the Rams weren’t duped, they were at least gently misled by the league’s silence.
It’s one thing to not want a player because of his sexual orientation, entirely another to reject him because of the attendant circus that follows him into camp.
It’s also fair for an athlete to exploit his visibility for gain. But those players typically aren’t seventh-round draftees who insist they prefer to play down their lifestyle while media continue to exploit it.
Fisher thought enough about Sam’s presence that on Monday he imported retired NFL cornerback and current activist Wade Davis to counsel his locker room, coaches and front office about a situation some might see as uncomfortable. No player griped. Several already had supported Sam via social media. However, a number of players apparently voiced displeasure to management Thursday shortly after learning about the Oprah project.
An uplifting narrative now becomes tinged by collateral controversy. Sam’s agent, Cameron Weiss, insisted Thursday afternoon that no part of the six one-hour segments will be shot at Rams Park. Originally scheduled to air in October, the series will now be held until after the Super Bowl. The Rams conceivably could cut Sam six months before the series runs. That might produce its own mushroom cloud.
Weiss on Thursday suggested a misunderstanding of the issue. “Oprah was committed to doing this off the field,” he said. “They are not filming during OTA’s, rookie camp or training camp.”
There is more smoke than fire if Weiss’ description proves true. However, the Rams’ learning about Sam’s arrangement with Oprah after the draft fosters a notion of potential friction. Meanwhile, the NFL is leaning toward turning HBO loose on Earth City for this season’s edition of ‘‘Hard Knocks,’’ which demands total access to a franchise’s football operations. (The Rams have no say over the HBO production.)
You hear “docu-series” and immediately think “reality show.” Of course, nothing in media is more sensationalized and more cartoonish than reality TV. The Rams can be forgiven thinking they’re about to become part of a production that hopes to use its players as unwitting props. Weiss, directly involved in the show’s production, assures the truth is “completely 100 percent opposite” from such a concern.
“This is simply showing someone doing something that has never been done before,” Weiss said.
This was never going to be an easy journey for Sam. He is considered undersized for the NFL. Poor conditioning led to a 4.91-second 40 time and poor vertical jump that torpedoed his Combine. He launched a revenue-producing website. He arranged an autograph show in St. Louis. Now this.
Sam projects as a fringe NFL player. He hardly enters camp with a job to lose. He must prove 31 other franchises erred while crashing a roster that boasts one of the league’s best defensive fronts.
It’s most important Sam earn acceptance within his new locker room. While Sam rightfully expects respect for who he is, his new teammates are entitled to take seriously Sam’s pledge that he is here to play football. To blend in, Sam must be open to verbal give and take on and off the field. Compromising spontaneity and interaction only complicates a unique situation.
One wants to believe Sam sincere when he says he wants to be judged foremost as a football player. Weiss insisted Monday that Sam isn’t trying to use the Rams as a platform. He also described the Rams’ reaction to the situation as “mixed.”
“Mike has got broad shoulders. We’ve got broad shoulders,” Weiss said about his California-based agency, Empire Athletes. “We’re about doing what’s right.”
The Rams offered much the same message last Saturday.
