Retired NFL player Donte’ Stallworth destroys notion that openly gay player would be a distraction

This guy is my new hero.

The coming out of NFL prospect Michael Sam has been a huge story the past two days but amid all of the congratulations are the naysayers within the league looking for an excuse not to draft this highly-touted college star.

The say it will be a distraction, will result in too much media scrutiny eye, or so says former NFL coach Herm Edwards in an interview with ESPN.

Former New England Patriot Donte’ Stallworth, in a series of tweets earlier today, absolutely shuts those tired excuses down:

If any NFL team can’t “handle the media coverage” of drafting Sam, then your team is already a loser on the field… let me tell you why… There are a multitude of issues that can arise in the long duration of an NFL season… some on the field, some off the field.

You won’t have any idea what that on the field/off the field situation is until it’s already upon you and the entire organization…Which means that with drafting Michael Sam, you get a jump start on controlling the “media coverage” right from the onset.

If an organization is inept to the magnitude of not being able to control things with prior knowledge, how will you handle the unexpected?

Case Study 1: The Miami Dolphins and the bullying scandal… players talked more about THAT than they did football… for weeks!

During that time I questioned (tweeted) why the Dolphins players were talking more about the scandal than their next opponent….Since the bullying story broke, the Dolphins finished the season 4-4…w/playoff hopes still alive, got spanked by division opp Jets, 20-7

Case Study 2: The New England Patriots and Aaron Hernandez AND Tim Tebow situations…Beyond the state of shock I endured after the revelations of Hernandez, I knew that if ANY organization could handle this, it was the Pats.

This all happened right before training camp where players are supposed to come in w/clear minds in preparation for a long, rigorous season.Not only were there questions about Aaron, but also about the health of Gronkowski and how those two combined affected the team as a whole.

Aaron is still awaiting trial & Gronk played in only 7 games this season…but yet the Pats seemed to avoid those “distractions” altogether. Despite many season ending injuries to key pieces, the Pats finished 12-4 and lost to the Broncos in the AFC title with… ZERO distractions

Not to mention the whole Tebow signing and (alleged subsequent) distraction wasn’t even a blip on most radars… Why? Because Mr. Kraft and Bill Belichick would not allow ANY of that to be a “distraction” to ANYONE in the entire organization…

In my 10 years as an NFL player, I’ve played for 6 different teams & have been in every kind of locker room. Vet, young, mature, immature…he leaders of an NFL organization AND the locker room better be able to handle adversity that is certain to emerge during a long NFL season

In my experience, if your organization can’t “handle media coverage”, they will suck on the field anyway… but hey, there’s always 2015…

@DonteStallworth