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I don't think it is a question of, being naked in front of a gay man who will be walking around grabbing people's penises for fun.
I am a happily married man, to a woman. If I were in a coed locker room with naked showering women, sorry, I am going to be checking out the goods. That is just how I am wired. Would it be awkward for the women? I honestly don't know, I would imagine so. So, why would it be any different for a straight man in the presence of a gay man? Again, I don't necessarily know. But this idea that a gay NFL'er is a problem because he'll lack the self-control to not play grab a** seems like the wrong argument to make.
I think this is something that people who are pro-gay in these conversation do not accept or understand. There will be people who will be uncomfortable with the idea of having to be naked in front of a person that could potentially be attracted to them. It's just brings an extremely uncomfortable work environment. Whether there are people who agree with that mindset or not, it is reality.
So that this thread doesn't get closed, let's stay on topic.
I'm (possibly naively) going to believe that everyone who posts on this forum is a fan of an NFL team.
Everyone KNOWS that there are gays in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc. They just haven't announced themselves to the world. Michael Sam has.
Would you want him on your team? It's just a simple YES or NO answer. Save the pro vs. anti debate for the Philosophy, Religion, or whatever forum.
I would hope that he would be accepted in Philadelphia by both the fans and the other players.
We would KNOW that he has been accepted by the fans when he gets booed for making a hideous play and not for his lifestyle.
I would not and it has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. It's the attention that he will get and the distraction that it's going to cause that would concern me. I want, at the end of the day, for my team to go to the Super Bowl and win. If a person becomes a focal point and the players have to constantly answer questions about a guy who likely won't even start for my team, then I think there is a problem. To me I am against that type of situation. It's the same reason why I wouldn't want Tim Tebow on my team.
Just play football is right. I think he gets drafted and hopefully if he does a team with a strong, no nonsense structure. A nightmare to go to a team that thrives on being in the media every day (Jets, Cowboys come to mind).
Whoever said the liberal gay media, some people just have to go down that road, the media period will be all over it if he doesn't end up with a team, putting a political tag on it, please.
It's the truth. Conservative media is not going to have the same perspective as liberal media, so I think that is a fair assessment.
I think this is something that people who are pro-gay in these conversation do not accept or understand. There will be people who will be uncomfortable with the idea of having to be naked in front of a person that could potentially be attracted to them. It's just brings an extremely uncomfortable work environment. Whether there are people who agree with that mindset or not, it is reality.
He just needs to remain professional about it. The rest just need to get over their insecurities. When you go to a public gym, do you not think of the possibility that a gay man might be there and he might checking out your junk? Most people don't think about it or worry about it. We're all adults after all.
Besides, it's not like their full-time job is taking showers with one another. They play football. Taking showers should be the last thing on their minds.
He just needs to remain professional about it. The rest just need to get over their insecurities. When you go to a public gym, do you not think of the possibility that a gay man might be there and he might checking out your junk? Most people don't think about it or worry about it. We're all adults after all.
Actually I do have those concerns which is why I most of the time I don't undress in locker rooms and if I do have to I don't take off all my clothes. Ask the average woman if she would be comfortable undressing in front of a locker room full of men. That would be the context.
You may not understand that because perhaps, that isn't what makes you uncomfortable or perhaps you don't mind people of the same sex seeing you, but for myself and others, it can be a concern. There was a person on here, who has a eerily similar position on this topic as you, last year that admitted that he knows that gay men go to locker rooms to check out other men. I think that confirms any concerns.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tekkie
Besides, it's not like their full-time job is taking showers with one another. They play football. Taking showers should be the last thing on their minds.
It doesn't matter if it's their full time job, you are minimizing the point but what you said doesn't change the fact that it still will happen. If I played sports and part of my function would be to take showers in the same room as women, I would probably be thinking about that a lot and look forward to it. There's a good chance that if given the opportunity I would probably try to see what I can. It's human nature. You can control your actions, but you don't suppress attraction to the opposite .... err...to whatever you are attracted to.
He just needs to remain professional about it. The rest just need to get over their insecurities. When you go to a public gym, do you not think of the possibility that a gay man might be there and he might checking out your junk? Most people don't think about it or worry about it. We're all adults after all.
Besides, it's not like their full-time job is taking showers with one another. They play football. Taking showers should be the last thing on their minds.
If no one there is gazing in a fixed manner at some part of my anatomy, I see no reason to get nervous. But there remains a component in the population that considers sodomy and male-male oral sex as offensive. I don't think there's any reason to cast aspersions on people who feel like that. You can call them bigots, but they are no more bigots than people who think fondling children is wrong. There is no absolute moral standard, of course. But everyone has their reason for whatever feelings they have.
So the real question is whether teams can be harmonious with differences like this. And to break a barrier like this, does it take unusual talent? GM just got a female CEO. But that doesn't mean just any woman would be able to run a guy company like that.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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I very much applaud Michael Sam for risking his draft stock to reveal what must be something that had troubled him. I fully support him. I have been waiting to see how the NFL is going to respond to an actively gay player in the locker room. Now it is showtime.
I will say that I think the city he ends up being drafted going to is going to be important. I think Michael Sam would have a lot more trouble with the fans in Charlotte or Detroit accepting him than a more gay-friendly NFL city like Washington or New York.
I think one aspect that has to be discussed is the racial aspect. I read a Huffpost story about homophobic comments made in response to the news. Most of the worst comments were made by young black males. If you don't think that the racial aspect is gonna be important, you are in for a rude awakening.
but they are no more bigots than people who think fondling children is wrong. There is no absolute moral standard, of course. But everyone has their reason for whatever feelings they have.
Really?!!?
You fail to see any difference between consenting adults entering into a relationship and someone molesting a child
I think this is something that people who are pro-gay in these conversation do not accept or understand. There will be people who will be uncomfortable with the idea of having to be naked in front of a person that could potentially be attracted to them. It's just brings an extremely uncomfortable work environment. Whether there are people who agree with that mindset or not, it is reality.
That's actually a valid concern and I think that there could be some sensitivity shown to those that are bothered by it if they were say....sharing a locker next to him etc.
However, it's quite likely that a football player has been doing just that (without knowing exactly whom) throughout thier entire highschool, college and pro career.
Hey, I worked out at a gym in a predominantly gay part of Chicago for years and probably half the guys there were gay. <shrug>
All I know is I will be tuning out of the sports talk shows for a couple of days until all of this blows over.
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