One of the big concerns about Michael Sam voiced by fans, members of the media and NFL team executives is the "media circus" that picking up Sam will create. Tony Dungy specifically said the "distraction" would be too great for him to consider adding Sam to any team he coached.
Above you can see the wild "media circus" Sam's presence at the NFL Veteran Combine created. Throngs of media members suddenly flocked to Phoenix the day before the start of the NFL Annual Meeting just to watch Sam run the 40-yard-dash and go through some defensive end drills. The other players were so distracted by the hundreds of journalists who were creating a ruckus on the sidelines of the Cardinals practice facility that…
Of course, that didn't happen. Maybe two dozen members of the media showed up to watch about 105 NFL veterans try to earn a spot on an NFL roster. Sam was one of them. But just like with the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys, he was just another player on the field.
It's yet still more evidence that the "distraction" rationalization is little more than code word for "homophobia." Various teams may have individual reasons to not want Sam on their team, but him being a "distraction" that creates a "media circus" simply is not a rational reason.
