The professional football season hasn’t even started yet, but pitiful excuses for sports journalism have already arrived.
Last Tuesday, a SportsCenter anchor asked Josina Anderson, who was reporting live from the St. Louis Rams’ training camp, how Michael Sam was fitting in with his teammates.
Anderson responded by discussing Sam’s showering habits on national television, reporting that he seemed hesitant to shower with his teammates “as to not make [them] uncomfortable.”
Michael Sam is primarily known as the first openly gay man to be drafted into the NFL. On Saturday, though, Sam was cut by the Rams, but can be picked up by another NFL team.
But Sam’s sexual orientation does not excuse Anderson’s invasive reporting about whether Sam showers with his straight teammates.
No matter the player or their sexuality, there is no context in which this would have been acceptable.
It would be easy to place all of the blame on Anderson, but the “fitting in” question is a leading one. Why would Michael Sam not fit in with his teammates? He’s gay, not from Mars.
ESPN has since apologized for the reporting, saying that they “collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports.” I agree they failed to meet standards of any kind, but I don’t believe this is the last time they will try to cash in on Sam’s sexuality for a quick story.
Sam’s sexuality has been used to make unnecessary headlines before.
There was extreme backlash against Sam for kissing his boyfriend on live television after learning of his drafting to the St. Louis Rams. One viewer complained to the FCC, saying it was, “totally disgusting, totally inappropriate, totally classless. The government needs to get involved ASAP.”
ESPN seems willing to exploit the fact that Sam is gay, but ready to ignore all of the real problems with some professional athletes.
Where were the reports on the showering habits of Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger when they were both accused of sexual assault? Or is it more acceptable for straight men to shower with rapists than with a gay person?
What about convicted dog fighter Michael Vick? I doubt that an on-scene reporter for ESPN asked whether teammates would allow Vick around their beloved pets.
It’s pathetic that Michael Sam can’t even gain the amount of respect given to alleged and convicted criminals simply because he is gay.
While Sam’s status as the first gay player to be drafted is a special one, the stigma placed on his sexuality is unfair.
It’s not breaking news that the sports world is homophobic and rooted in old-fashioned notions of masculinity. Masculinity, to many people, means being a staunch heterosexual, and in this way, Michael Sam clearly does not fit in the mold of the traditional athlete.
We should be celebrating Michael Sam’s talent, skills, and courage to enter a homophobic environment, not launching investigations about whether he’s showered with his heterosexual teammates.
If media outlets like ESPN continue to make Sam a pariah because of his sexuality, homophobia will continue to be rampant within not only the world of sports, but also in all of the United States.
American professional football has been racially integrated since the early 20th century, but the media’s treatment of Sam ensures that straight and gay players won’t be fully integrated anytime soon.
SidneyRose Reynen is a 19-year-old film and media arts and art history sophomore from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @sidneyrose_TDR.