NFL Draft Prospect Michael Sam announced to the world that he is gay on Sunday, Feb. 9.  Sam, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American at Missouri, will be the first openly gay player in the most “macho” of professional leagues.

Sam’s announcement should come as an inspiration not only to gay Americans but also to all of us in the Class of 2014 who are seeking employment next year.  Like many of us, Sam was highly successful at what he did in college but there are no guarantees that Sam will step into the professional world and be successful (he is projected to be a mid-round pick). We are all trying to spice up our resumes and tailor them in ways that we think our potential future employers will like, but Sam sends a different message, an American message. Be yourself, and there will be someone or some organization to accept you. In a profession where the average career lasts less than four years, Sam is telling future employers ‘here is something many of you won’t like. This is who I am, and you better deal with it.’

As a fan of the NFL, I am embarrassed to say that the league has had a mixed reaction to Sam’s announcement. It is 2014; it is time for organizations, players, and fans to mature. I imagine there is very few people that are proud that they had ancestors that actively rooted against Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball 60 years ago, and, I hope that eventually people will feel the same shame for rooting against Michael Sam.  I hope that we can get to the point where an athlete’s sexuality is not even mentioned, because it is a non-factor to me as a fan. I cannot imagine a reason why I would choose to root for or against a playerbecause of his sexuality. Most of the time, I could not care less what an athlete does off the field, sexually or not.

Unfortunately, several NFL organizations have had front office employees anonymously express doubts that they would want to bring an openly gay player to their team. “I don’t think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet,” said one NFL personnel player assistant in a sportsillustrated.com article. “In the coming decade or two, it’s going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it’s still a man’s-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It’d chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.” Note to the NFL: If you have to make your comment anonymously, you probably should not be making it.

I hope that none of these executives work for the organization I root for, the Washington Redskins, and if so, I hope that his anonymity is exposed and his position with the team is terminated. I hope that the Redskins draft Sam, not for the attention that will undoubtedly come with it, but for the great sense of pride that it will bring a large amount of people. There will be one organization who breaks this barrier, and I would be proud if it were the Redskins.

There is a difference between disagreeing with homosexual ideology and treating homosexuals differently.  There are gay people I like, straight people I like, gay people I dislike, and many straight people that I dislike, but making these judgments based on sexuality is not a reflection on them, it’s a reflection on you as a poor human being. While I believe this campus and the younger generation largely shares these sentiments, it is unfortunate that the most widely watched sport in America apparently does not. If the NFL truly wants to maintain its status as “America’s Game,” it’s about time they start embracing all Americans.