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ESPN Sucks 3rd Version

Mickey Massuco

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uqGUNis.jpg
 

strummer

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ESPN already going full throttle into college football coverage a month and a half before the season starts. At least they know their audience
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

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LeBatard talked on the show today about Delle Donne coming out, which transitioned nicely into what I thought was an interesting conversation about male athletes coming out. Naturally, Michael Sam came up, which led to a sub-discussion about whether Sam made it easier or harder for male athletes to come out.

Unsurprisingly, Stugotz's hot take was that, if you're supremely talented, like a LeBron James, it doesn't matter whether you're gay or not. And, while that may be true, the larger point that LeBatard was trying to make, and which I agree is a more interesting conversation, is whether being supremely talented should have to be a prerequisite to getting an opportunity in sports, if you're an openly gay man? I mean, I'll stick to basketball, here, since I can't really speak intelligently about other sports, but I think we all can agree that, if Anthony Davis had come out as gay while he was still at Kentucky, he would have still been drafted. Looking back at the 2012 draft, he probably still would have gone #1 overall. But, what if Kyle O'Quinn had come out as gay while he was a senior at Norfolk State? Does he still get drafted? Can an openly gay, marginally talented male athlete get drafted to play a professional sport in the United States, or would it have to be a guy who was projected as a superstar?

LeBatard's timeline was full of guys talking that noise about "If Michael Sam were any good, he'd be in the league," or some variation thereof. But, I'm like, there are benchwarmers on every team, in every league, in every sport in the world... Are you confident enough to stand behind the idea that all of those guys are good enough that being openly gay wouldn't have been a roadblock to them making it? Because I'm not. Like, question for the footbaw fans on the board (which is, basically, everybody besides me): think about the practice squad guys for your favorite team. How many of them do you think even get a tryout if they're openly gay?
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

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That's still looking at it on the micro level, rather than the macro level. Like, what's the demarcation point? What's the lowest level of talent a player would be allowed to have to be openly gay and play in the league?

That's why I specifically asked about the practice squad players on your favorite team: I'm not qualified to argue whether or not Michael Sam is talented enough to "cut it" in the NFL, or even the CFL, and whether Michael Sam is or not is kind of besides the point. I presume that we're all in agreement that the star of the team could be gay, and still in the league; what about Towel-Waver-Guy, though?
 

Mickey Massuco

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That's what I'm saying, if Michael Sam were straight he still wouldn't be good enough to make the NFL. But yes, odds are if practice squad players came out as gay that would make things harder, and in some situations they might not make the team when they otherwise would have as a straight man.
 

HarleyQuinn

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A lot of coaches wouldn't want to deal with the media circus depending on the player's talent level as well. If somebody who were gay (or even bisexual) but was backup talent probably would have a harder road to get drafted nevermind stick on a 53 man roster. I still think Sam could've made a practice squad for an NFL team if he were straight and didn't have the media circus around him but I don't think he could've stuck in the NFL more than a couple years at most.

I think we (LGBT community) legit would need a superstar or at least a very obvious starter level caliber player to come out and stick on a team before lesser caliber players can do so. See the NBA and Jason Collins as well for an NBA comparison to Michael Sam.
 

Baby Shoes

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he was but they didn't let him have the shitty haircut ESPN does

plus his most memorable moment in wwe was melting down on an internet exclusive show
 

Mickey Massuco

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Barnwell goes through history from the early 20th century to the present, anointing various athletes throughout history as the 'best american athlete champion'. Even came up with a belt!

http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/17303175/best-american-athlete-championship-belt-best-athlete-sports-history-michael-jordan-michael-phelps-babe-ruth-tiger-woods-united-states

respect to giving Randy Moss a title run in 2007. But I gotta say, the steroid rule is dumb considering a lot of the guys he picked were probably on roids.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

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ESPN got me with the okey-doke yesterday: when I found out that they were going to have an all-female episode of Sports Reporters, I was intrigued. When they introduced the host and speakers at the beginning, and they all mentioned a topic relevant to women's sports, I was like Papi LeBatard in this piece: ¡Sí, sí, I'm very intrigued!

Then they spent the next thirty minutes talking about football... :mad:
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

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Second time this week that LeBatard has used "Glorious!" as his rejoin music.


As to the football question... I don't really feel like typing up a big wall of text that describes the thirty-odd years of history that goes into why I hate football, so let's just pretend that I did, and skip to the tl;dr answer:

Because.
 

Damaramu

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Mr. S£im Citrus said:
Second time this week that LeBatard has used "Glorious!" as his rejoin music.


As to the football question... I don't really feel like typing up a big wall of text that describes the thirty-odd years of history that goes into why I hate football, so let's just pretend that I did, and skip to the tl;dr answer:

Because it's not a woman's sport.

EFA

I kid. I kid.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

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Eh, fuck it, I'll allow it. It was sorta funny.


That said, I wouldn't watch women's football, either.
 

AA484

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Jemele Hill sounds like she smokes three packs a day and follows that up by drinking a fifth of whiskey.
 

Star Ocean 2

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The ESPN LA station is dumping Dan Le Batard's show for a new Keyshawn Johnson morning show. Between this and Kellerman gone, there is now no reason to listen to 710. Guess I gotta listen to the podcasts in my car now!
 

Kageho

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ESPN has an article that Cam Newton's shirt read - "Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere".

Um... I don't think that's how that shirt reads or the quote goes, David Newton. And it still isn't fixed yet.
 
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