This has become a big topic in sports with the support of homosexuality growing more and more each day. Recently in the NBA Jason Collins came out as an actively gay player and in the NHL, team Captain Dustin Brown has been out of the closet for a while. People should just stop being ignorant to the fact that this is normal and should be accepted as the norm. But are critics t right to say that this specific channel and network is not supposed to be showing this kind of stuff? It is a Sports Network at the end of the day right? Could all of this have been staged? -- Sam does do this kiss repeatedly while looking straight into the camera, or could his emotions just be getting the better of him in this joyous and momentous moment.
Sam will face hardships in his coming years as an NFL player, with fans, the media and players criticizing him but with the support of family and people who aren't completely Narrow-Minded, he will become successful.
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I think the people that were complaining about the kiss were discriminating him on the basis of sexuality because as you stated there were no reactions to the kisses between other players and their girlfriends.However, I did notice that Mivhael Sam did stare in to the camera so knowing sport companies and their struggle to control the media's take on specific story it could have been staged but most likely I think he was just caught in the heat of the moment. And like you've mentioned as more homosexual players/coaches come out I think these associations have to face the fact that there players are all different individuals who will fall in to different categories including homosexuals. I think this kind of criticism is from the fact that the dominant discourse for athletes has always been big buff handsome heterosexual men.
ReplyDeleteI understand that it may look as if the kiss was staged because Michael did glance at the camera. What we need to remember is that one doesn't simply choose to be homosexual, they are born that way. Michael Sam decided to show the world that he is not hiding in the closest and that he is an openly gay man and he is proud of it. This kiss should even be getting that much attention, because look at with a different scenario. "Michael Sam was overly joyed with the news of getting drafted by the St. Louis Rams, and he kissed and hugged his wife before phoning his new NFL coach." Now that scenario does not seem so controversial, the general public would look right past it. Now the real issue is not the fact that he kissed his spouse and that it was aired on a sports channel, because I'm pretty sure that same channel has aired a heterosexual couple kissing as well. The issue here is that why is it such an issue to the general public that he has decided to do such things? Its 2014, homosexuals have been around since the bible days, it is\n't that serious, but for some reason we make it a problem. His kiss has done no harm to anyone so why is it controversial? Like Fatima said "I think this kind of criticism is from the fact that the dominant discourse for athletes has always been big buff handsome heterosexual men." I think that people are still feeding that ignorant mindset towards homosexual males. The issue is that people expect there to literally be ONE TYPE OF PERSON, and you would think that by 2014 after fighting all of those diffferent human equality rights for many different differnces, that people wouldn't be so narrow minded for something o small. Reality is there is not gender norm, THERE IS NO NORM IN GENERAL!! No two people in the world are alike and that is just how God made us. So These ignorant, narrow-minded people need to get over the thought that there is a norm because everyone is DIFFERENT sorry to break it to you.
DeleteI completely disagree on the idea that this was staged. I did notice a glance, but it wasn't one of suspicion. We can only see from the cameras lens, but he had a whole crew of cameras and staff in that room. If i were to put myself into that situation I would definitely find myself glancing at the cameras quite often.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the argument on this being inappropriate for a sports network is insane. The fact that he is celebrating making it to the NFL is the reason that this is appropriate, and people have been kissing their partners for years on this channel why is it suddenly an issue? In my opinion it is just a cover-up to mask the real reason, some sports fans don't agree with homosexuality. The best way I think there is to handle this issue is change the channel. If it bothers you so much a) your ignorant b) you have a remote. ESPN is about broadcasting current sports events, and that was one.
I also very much agree with Paula's point on this not having to be an issue. The fact that this kiss is getting so much media attention is wrong, and is a large contribution to the thought of this being an issue.
Understandably, there are those uncomfortable with watching TV shows with people acting sexual/ affectionately. However, in this case, the kiss between Michael Sam and his long time boyfriend was purely innocent, an act between two people wholly invested in each others interest. There should not be any concern over a kiss such as this, unlike some of the face eating kisses shown on popular tween shows. I find it hypocritical, especially on a sports channel that features male to male displays of affections with intense hugging after wins, butt slapping or even close contact sports like rugby that puts players in close proximity. Not to forget players kissing and hugging their girlfriends/ wives after wins. Sam's kiss is a display of strong family support and makes me feel happy, if someone doesn't feel the same then I think they should reevaluate their values.
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