Report Declares Michael Sam Drafted by Rams Because of Quid Pro Quo Arrangement with NFL

According to a report over at 590TheFan.com by Howard Balzer, the then-St. Louis Rams agreed to draft Michael Sam, the NFL���s first openly-gay football player, in exchange for the league���s agreement not to tap the franchise to appear that year on HBO���s Hard Knocks reality show, which details the goings-on inside of a selected NFL team���s training camp. While Hard Knocks is popular with viewers, it is roundly disliked by NFL teams for the intrusions that come with being the subject of an ongoing TV show while having to prepare for the upcoming football season. Each year, teams regularly turn down the ���opportunity��� to appear as the centerpiece of that season���s show, often putting the league in the position of having to choose a reluctant participant, instead.

Reportedly, the league, seeking to avoid the firestorm it feared would have ensued at the hands of LGBT activist groups had Sam not been drafted by any team in 2014, promised the Rams team that it would not be saddled with an appearance that year on Hard Knocks if they agreed to draft the Missouri defensive end. The report further details that the league found the Rams, at the time of St. Louis but now of Los Angeles, a particularly good franchise with which to strike this bargain because of the geographical proximity of St. Louis to Columbia, MO, where Sam played at the University of Missouri, as well as the league���s belief in Rams coach Jeff Fisher���s ability to deal with whatever distractions would likely arise in the wake of the controversial pick.

For his part, Fisher says the report is ���absolutely absurd.��� As for Sam, he was cut by the team before the 2014 regular season. Although he subsequently spent brief periods on the rosters of the Dallas Cowboys and Canadian Football League���s Montreal Alouettes, he is presently out of the game.

Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large