It makes sense that President Barack Obama’s first extended public reflections on the Michael Sam milestone came in a conversation with a fellow athlete, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, in a wide-ranging talk that also touched upon such venerable barbershop topics as LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan, keeping your game sharp as your knees age, and the experience of watching your children play your old sport. The national conversation provoked by an openly gay man being drafted by an NFL franchise is being played out all over the black community in exchanges just like this.
“I really like the fact that Michael did it before the draft, because his attitude was, ‘You know what? I know who I am. I know I can play great football and judge me on the merits,’” Obama told Barkley in an interview that aired before the NBA All-Star Game.
Sam’s pre-draft announcement gave an NFL franchise the opportunity to make diversity history. St. Louis should be proud that it was the St. Louis Rams, led by Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager Les Snead, who seized that opportunity by selecting Sam, a defensive end from Mizzou, in the 7th round. The historic choice of Sam immediately became a national story. It was given regional flavor by the fact that the football team in the state’s largest metropolitan area, with its devoted Mizzou fan base, was keeping Missouri’s most famous college football player in-state for his pro ball.
As many have done, Obama looked far beyond the details of Sam’s present situation to consider the moment in historical context. Given that he was talking to a former NBA player about a future NFL player, Obama ruminated about historical parallels from professional sports.
“Think about basketball. You think about what the NBA was before African Americans were allowed to play on an equal footing,” Obama told Barkley.
No one would predict that opening up the NFL to openly gay players would transform pro football the way that black athletes transformed pro basketball, but Obama was making the crucial connection between blacks and gays as minorities who have been denied basic opportunities enjoyed by mainstream society. He then pushed this point further in a way that ultimately connected Sam’s courageous example to his own historic presidency.
“You think about some of the stories that even folks like Oscar Robertson tell of what they went through,” Obama told Barkley. “You think about what Jackie Robinson ended up meaning, not just to baseball, but to the entire society. I wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for him. I think America is stronger where everybody is being treated with respect and dignity.”
Obama might have mentioned Kenny Washington, the first African American to play in the NFL. Fisher pointed out that the Rams, then based in Los Angeles, also broke the race barrier in the NFL when it signed Washington in 1946 – a year before Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers integrated Major League Baseball.
Obama already had congratulated Sam personally. “Congratulations on leading the way,” Obama told Sam via Twitter. “That’s real sportsmanship.” We emphatically agree. We also would like to congratulate Fisher, Snead and Rams ownership for showing diversity leadership. Further, we would like to congratulate Obama and Barkley for leading the way in sharing this open-minded conversation about a controversial topic between two respected and influential black men. That is real sportsmanship.
