ESPN Says sorry and ‘Michael Sam is waiting to shower not to make his teammates uncomfortable’(follow up)
One of the network’s journalists, Josina Anderson, appeared on SportsCenter on Tuesday with a report on how Sam was adjusting to life with his new teammates at the St Louis Rams, who picked him in May’s NFL Draft. MORE: US implodes over Michael Sam’s on-screen kiss Anderson quoted an anonymous Rams player, who said Sam appeared to be hanging back from showering with his teammates.
“(A) defensive player told me that, quote, ‘Sam is respecting our space,’ and that from his perspective, he seems to think that Michael Sam is waiting to kind of take a shower, as not to make his teammates uncomfortable,” she said. Anderson asked other players about Sam’s showering habits as well. Kendall Langford, who plays in the defensive tackle position, said Sam “seems to be taking a rookie approach of just listening and learning at his own pace”.
“He said that you can tell he’s just trying to feel his way through and perhaps see what guys he can relate to,” Anderson said.
“While Langford told me, ‘Listen, I have not been in the shower at the same time as Michael Sam,’ he said that there definitely could be a million reasons as to why that is. He said he could be doing extra work on the practise field, he could be riding his bike, he could be doing extra cardio.”
Rams coach Jeff Fisher was furious with ESPN for airing the story.
“I think it’s unethical,” Fisher told the St Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think it’s very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, the content. The manner in which she did it.”
Fisher also took offence at Anderson contacting Rams players while they were away from the team’s training facility.
“We have a media policy, and we’re very flexible,” Fisher said. “We have open practices. Players are available. We have open locker rooms.
“Obviously she came in, in all likelihood to see if there was going to be a roster move at the 75 cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam (the NFL teams are cutting players from their squads before the season starts).
“That didn’t happen. But she needed to do something, and it’s my understanding that she manufactured this story. She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time. Misled them with questions and then put this piece together.”
Initially, ESPN defended Anderson’s report, and claimed the players mentioned Sam’s showering habits on their own.
“In response to recent questions about Sam fitting in with the team, multiple Rams brought up the shower topic and we relayed that information as part of our reporting,” the network said. But when the backlash grew stronger, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz issued an apology.
“ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly yesterday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports,” Krulewitz said.
The network’s president, John Skipper, called the Rams to apologise personally on Wednesday. Fisher accepted that apology.
“We appreciate John Skipper reaching out to us and apologising, and their willingness to communicate and work through this with us,” Fisher said.
Shortly after Anderson’s story aired, the Rams reduced their squad to 75 players. Sam survived, but there’s another round of cuts this weekend, and 22 more players will leave the team. Hopefully, he won’t be one of them.
Sam revealed he was gay at a practise session with his college football side last year, prompting an outpouring of support from his teammates. But the NFL still has a long way to go before gay players feel welcome.
A recent profile of Sam, published by Out Magazine, showed the amount of pressure he’s been under throughout his young career. This is how the hulking, 6-foot-2 linebacker reacted when he realised the reporter, Christopher Glazek, was also gay:
“His face melted into a smile. He inched his chair closer to the table and loosened the furrow in his brow,” Glazek wrote.
“His eyes, which had glared with impermeability all through the shoot, suddenly started to radiate warmth and comradeship. Sam’s metamorphosis was so sudden and cartoonish, it suggested how much energy he was having to expend to protect his sexual orientation from people he feared would use it against him.”
Players like Michael Sam shouldn’t have to be afraid of their sexual orientation being “used against them”. It’s really that simple.
Originally published as ESPN slammed for outrageous story on gay player
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