ESPN shouldn’t be bashed for Michael Sam coverage

ESPN did a report on Michael Sam and the St. Louis Rams training camp that included some discussion about Sam’s shower time habits.

Everyone lost their ever-lovin’ minds.

The higher-ups at ESPN (sort of) apologized, but they really didn’t need to. In fact, if anyone should be apologizing, it should be Michael Sam’s teammates, and here’s why.

ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Crawford began talking about the Rams having to cut the roster down, and obviously when you are discussing that topic, Michael Sam’s name has to be mentioned.

But Crawford didn’t ask reporter Josina Anderson if it looked like Sam was going to be cut, or if his teammates felt he was going to make the squad. He specifically asked her “How is he fitting in with his Rams’ teammates so far?”  A valid question for any rookie, but especially for one who carries the burden of being the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL.

So Anderson answered the question with quotes directly from Sam’s teammates, and those quotes related to how he was fitting in eluded to Sam’s showering habits – and this was after a lengthy quote from defensive tackle Kendall Langford about Sam’s work habits and attention to detail, including calling him “one of the guys”.

Anderson then went on to quote “another Rams defensive player” (who obviously wanted to remain anonymous) about Sam’s daily hygiene habits.

"“He said that ‘Sam is respecting our space’, and that from his perspective he seems to think that Michael Sam is waiting to kinda take a shower as not to make his teammates feel uncomfortable, while Langford and linebacker Alec Ogletree told me that they didn’t know that specifically and also weren’t tracking that.”"

Then Anderson went into an explanation of why this perception about Sam not showering with the other Rams exists, as told by Langford…not by her.

What Anderson did was answer the question as presented to her, and a valid question it was. She answered it with direct quotes from other St. Louis Rams players — not on conjecture or guess or any type of speculation — but on actual statements from the Rams players, and then gave a counter-opinion on the subject from other teammates.

So will someone please explain to me exactly what is wrong with this?

Along with all the unjustified indignation about the report, came a tweet from Rams defensive end, Chris Long:

That tweet was of course received as a triumphant blow against the supposed intrusive reporting by ESPN, but in actuality, it’s not even the truth.

If everyone was over it, then the unnamed “Rams defensive player” wouldn’t have mentioned how Sam was respecting others’ space, and showering at different times. It’s obviously on the mind of one teammate, and I’d be willing to bet there are plenty of others thinking it who either didn’t speak up or weren’t asked how Sam was fitting in.

But all I saw up and down my social media timelines was that ESPN was reporting on Michael Sam’s showering habits and that they were trying to make an issue out of his homosexuality.

News flash folks. Michael Sam’s homosexuality is a story. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it is.

He’s the Jackie Robinson for LGBT rights in professional sports. He’s a barrier-breaker, and his story is going to be told over and over and over, even if he doesn’t end up making the final cut with the Rams.

If I were Josina Anderson, and I asked Rams’ players how Michael Sam was fitting in, any statements that alluded to him being gay would be fair game, so Anderson did her job.

There was nothing distasteful stated in the report. No overly descriptive accounts of Sam’s daily toilette. Just what Sam’s teammates said.

Why aren’t we hearing about people being upset that one of his teammates would talk about this topic, and not want to have his name given? Where’s the outrage for that?

You can view the entire report below and decide for yourself. Was it a bit different for an NFL training camp report? Absolutely. But Michael Sam is a different player, and how he fares in training camp and how he is accepted by his teammates, Rams or otherwise, is an important story to tell.

I say bravo to ESPN for having the courage to report what’s being said in regards to Michael Sam. It only sheds further light on the truth — that gay athletes still have a long way to go in terms of acceptance, and that even when all is quiet, there is still a storm brewing for some players.