The Green Bay Packers would have no issue employing Michael Sam or any other gay player, according to coach Mike McCarthy.
That is, so long as he can play ball.
The question was inevitable and McCarthy’s reaction was exactly what we’d expect from the Packers. On Monday, several anonymous (of course) personnel guys and coaches were quoted, saying how detrimental Sam’s presence would be for most teams.
Here was McCarthy’s reaction.
“I think you definitely have to feel he’s a courageous young man, but my understanding is he’s a talented young player,” McCarthy said. “We always from Day 1 talked about our program, about our culture. Ted is going through the draft process right now and at the end of the day it comes down to good football players.
“Any player who can come here and be a good teammate and follow the rules of our program, which is one be respectful and produce on the football field, we have room for that guy.”
It’s been suggested that Sam needs to wind up on the right team — a team with a culture based on respect, that doesn’t tolerate distractions. A team like the Packers or the New England Patriots, for example.
The Miami Dolphins — probably not.
Like we said yesterday, this ultimately comes down to whether Sam can play or not. Although he was the SEC defensive player of the year in 2013, he’s also a 260-pound defensive end. That means he’d become an outside linebacker in Green Bay.
The Packers probably have enough of those project guys already.