Majority of NFL players would be OK with gay teammate: Poll says
theGRIO REPORT - A recent ESPN poll suggests that the majority of NFL players would be OK with a gay teammate.
A recent ESPN poll suggests that the majority of NFL players would be OK with a gay teammate.
NFL Draft prospect Michael Sam is poised to become the league’s first openly gay player.
After the former Missouri defensive end came out to the nation during a press conference earlier this month, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com’s NFL Nation teamed up for an anonymous survey of current players’ opinions on the news of Sam coming out.
Forty-four of the 51 players polled said a teammate’s sexual orientation did not matter to them.
When asked if they would shower around a gay teammate, 39 responded true, but when asked if an openly gay player would be comfortable in an NFL locker room, only 25 players answered true.
Thirty-two players said they had teammates or coaches who used homophobic slurs last season.
Sam was the SEC’s defensive player of the year following last season, however some experts have said his coming out may hurt his draft position. He is still predicted to be taken between the fourth and sixth rounds.
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