Karlos Dansby on Michael Sam: Definitely a distraction
By Mike Dyce
There has been a lot of discussion about whether Michael Sam would be a distraction for an NFL team since he has come out. The issue seems to be divided, anonymous NFL personnel saying they think he will be and others saying he won’t. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby has weighed in and said he thinks it will be a distraction and the experience will be tough on him.
“It will definitely be a distraction, without a doubt,” Dansby told SiriusXM Radio on Tuesday, via ArizonaSports.com. “That’s something that you really don’t even really want to talk about. You want to talk about football and making plays, and doing stuff like that. And the team you’re about to play against. You don’t want to answer questions about one’s sexual preference. . . .
“You’ll try to mask the situation, but it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be hard, man. Because it’s such a big topic. Him being the first guy to really come out and say those things, there’s going to be a lot of questions being asked day in and day out. . . . I think it will be difficult, just from the nature of the game. And the history of the game and the things that go on in a locker room; I think it will be tough, I think it will be tough on him. I think it will be real hard on him.”
Many others have speculated that other teams are better at handling the issues and the right team could make it a non-issue.