Most of you probably have no idea who former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Greg Ellis is, and those of you who do have likely forgotten about him. And as we know, players who have been forgotten often enjoy reminding people of their existence by making idiotic comments. Ellis did just that with his recent remarks about Michael Sam.
Ellis joined KESN-FM on Tuesday and began his discussion about Sam by saying having an openly gay teammate would have to “affect the football team” on some level.
“If he can make it through that first initial wave,” Ellis said, via the Dallas Morning News. “If he can get out there — he doesn’t need to say anything. He needs go in there, close his mouth and play football to let the guys know that, ‘Hey if you guys give me a chance to welcome me into this fraternity of this football team, I can contribute and help us win football games.’”
Considering all rookies are generally advised to shut their mouths and do their jobs, that is a valid point. Ellis probably should have stopped there.
“If he pats somebody on the butt — I hope ESPN don’t get mad and never have me back — but if he pats somebody on the butt, how is that to be received?” Ellis added. “If he does that how is that to be received? If he said, ‘Come on baby’? I called guys baby all the time on the football field, but when you have taken a stand and went and go public and say that, ‘I am gay,’ how is that going to be received? I’ve seen guys, I had guys on the Dallas Cowboys football team — I won’t mention names — who did not want you to pat them on their butt. So God forbid if you pat one of those guys on the butt it’s going to be a major problem.”
Is it a “major problem” when a male coach pats a female player on the butt or vice versa? If a player doesn’t like being touched on the backside, that’s one thing. But it shouldn’t matter whether the person doing the touching is gay or straight. A butt slap in that context is by no means sexual.
Ellis insisted he would be comfortable with a gay teammate, but his comments about the showering situation make that tough to believe.
“It’s just an open-form shower, so everybody sees each in the nude,” he said. “Well if you’re looking at men as if you’re looking at women or vice versa, how are those guys to receive that? I don’t know. I don’t know how they will receive that.
As we said before, Sam was well respected by his Missouri teammates. They knew he was gay. As long as he or any other openly gay players act professionally, butt slaps and showering should never be an issue.
H/T The Big Lead
