Dallas Sportscaster Dale Hansen Praised for Shocking Support of Gay NFL Prospect Michael Sam; Critic Calls Footballer 'Selfish'
Star college football player and National Football League hopeful Michael Sam announced Sunday that he's gay and has since received support from Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen, but critics suggest that Sam's decision to come out is "selfish."
In recent comments made on ABC's Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WFAA, Hansen explained that while he doesn't understand the world homosexuals live in, he understands that they live in his world and argued that Sam's sexuality should not be used to discriminate against him in the NFL.
"Several NFL officials are telling Sports Illustrated it will hurt him on draft day because a gay player wouldn't be welcome in an NFL locker room. It would be uncomfortable, because that's a man's world," said Hansen in his comments.
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"You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You're the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft. You kill people while driving drunk? That guy's welcome. Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they're welcome. Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away?" he continued.
"You lie to police trying to cover up a murder? We're comfortable with that. You love another man? Well, now you've gone too far. ... I'm not always comfortable when a man tells me he's gay. I don't understand his world, but I do understand that he's part of mine," he said.
A clip of Hansen's full comments posted to YouTube on Monday has since gone viral amassing more than 1.5 million views and glut of praise.
Sam announced his sexuality in a New York Times report Sunday to much media fanfare and high-ranking support coming from the likes of First Lady Michelle Obama.
But not everyone thought the announcement praiseworthy. Conservative radio host Michael Brown branded the player as "selfish" in a Townhall interview this week.
"Looked at from another angle, it was more of a selfish act, and not only in the sense that Sam is suddenly a national celebrity," said Brown.
"What I mean is that professional football is all about the team, and the focus must be on making a joint sacrifice in order to win rather than drawing attention to oneself. But Sam has now put his own desires – wanting to be out and proud – above the good of the team, saying to everyone else, 'Whether you're uncomfortable or not, and whether this helps the team's synergy or not, this is who I am,'" explained Brown.
"All the hoopla surrounding the announcement is bizarre. After all, what Sam has declared is, 'I'm attracted to other men,' and for this, he has become a national hero," he further noted.
