One of the raging controversies over the weekend and leading off the week has to do with the kiss(es) Michael Sam shared with his boyfriend on national TV upon being drafted 249th overall by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday.
Many people were grossed out at the site of two men kissing; others were upset with ESPN for consciously deciding to televise the kiss(es); and some are complaining that the cake smearing and multiple kisses were just excessive.
I can somewhat buy the argument that Sam and his boyfriend were excessive in their public displays of affection, but at the same time you have to put some of that on ESPN considering they control what we do and don’t see.
But one of my major issues is that people seem to be selectively complaining here.
Are people really uncomfortable with all public displays of affection between a draft pick and significant other? Or is it only a problem when it’s two men kissing?
I tend to feel that the underlying issue is people are uncomfortable with homosexual men showing affection in public.
Do you remember how Jan Vesely celebrated being drafted by the Washington Wizards in 2011? Here’s the video to refresh your memory:
We wrote about that kiss in 2011 and had no problem with it, just like we didn’t have an issue with Sam. Those were two kisses shared by Vesely and his now ex-girlfriend. And they were serious ones, too, not just wimpy pecks on the cheek.
Conversely, some people were grossed out when identical twin brothers Mike and Maurkice Pouncey shared a kiss on the lips to celebrate one of them being drafted:
That kiss was nothing compared to Vesely’s. And it was between two family members. Was it only weird because it involved two men? I think so. That’s something people need to just get over.
