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On Saturday, Michael Sam received welcome news. The prospective American football star was drafted by the St Louis Rams, becoming the first openly gay active player.
But the simple act of kissing his boyfriend on receiving the good news elicited a slight backlash on social media as the video went viral.
One player, Don Jones of the Miami Dolphins was fined today for tweeting "horrible" allegedly in reference in the aftermath.
Tonight we spoke to Robert Klemko of Sports Illustrated and Professor Kevin Blackistone about the reaction to Sam's entry to the NFL on Off The Ball.
Klemko described Twitter as the "last bastion of the ignorant and cowardly" in reference to the homophobic abuse aimed at the 249th pick in the draft. But he felt the reaction to Sam was generally positive within the media.
In the aftermath of Sam coming out, Klemko said he asked coaches that he knew about the potential reaction in the dressing room and was reminded of the changing mentality in the dressing room.
"The locker room is manned by very young men. Men who are young enough to have vivid memories of going to class with, if not playing with young gay men at the college level and the high school level. So they have a familiarity with this that some of us in the media have overlooked," he explained, adding that owners and marketing people were more likely to be against Sam.
Blackistone also added that players who may have an issue with Sam's sexuality are in the minority within the NFL, and believes that the most interesting thing about this case is the way that the scrutiny will be on everybody else and the way they react to Sam.
Klemko also discussed the impact Sam's announcement about his sexuality may have affected his draft stock and his future in the NFL.
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