Michael Sam delivers Pride Week keynote speech

The University of Louisville LGBT Center capped off its annual Pride Week with an unlikely ally: a football player.

Michael Sam, former University of Missouri defensive end and the first openly gay NFL player, delivered the LGBT Center’s keynote speech to a crowd of U of L faculty and students.

The talk began with an introduction from LGBT Center Director Brian Buford, who spoke on the privilege it is to work at U of L.

“I’ve never worked with people who are so passionate, dedicated and skilled at what they do,” Buford said. “Every member of this team is dedicated to our overall mission of inclusion.”

Buford also presented Assistant to the Vice President of Diversity Diane Whitlock with the LGBT Center Award. Buford touched on how much Whitlock has done for minority communities at the university.

“She has touched so many lives on this campus, and so many students come to her for her advice and support,” Buford said.

Sam presented Whitlock the award, and then began his speech.

Sam discussed his upbringing, as well as on the realities of what it was like to grow up with an absent father figure and two abusive older brothers.

“My older brothers, Josh and Chris, basically made life a living hell for me, my mom and my sisters,” Sam said. “They got involved with gangs, drugs and crime, and went down a very dark path.”

However, Sam spent very little time lamenting on the dark side of his past. Instead, he touched on how his negative experiences helped shape him into the man he is today.

“I didn’t have much of a father figure, and my two brothers made me want to stay as far away from home as possible,” Sam said. “I used school as a safe haven.”

Sam then shifted his talk to his coming out experience while playing for Missouri, saying it as one of the most important moments in his life.

“There were so many times in college that I didn’t know who I was. I would look at myself in the mirror and see a pretender,” Sam said. “I wasn’t Michael Sam. I was just someone who was pretending to be Michael Sam.”

“When I came out to my teammates in Aug. 2013, it was such a spontaneous moment, and I truly felt comfortable with who I was,” Sam said.

That season, Missouri achieved a 12-2 record, and Sam was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

After being drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams, Sam was cut in Aug. 2014 at the end of training camp. While his days of professional football are over, Sam still travels around the country to deliver speeches on his story, and hopes to provide inspiration for others dealing with some of the tribulations he’s gone through.

“I went through life resenting a lot of people for what they had done to me, and for a long time, I resented the NFL,” Sam said. “I believed that I really did have the talent to play in that league, but God has led me down a better path, and I’m thankful for it.”

More games: friv

Talent development remains key if Missouri is to win under Barry Odom

As a former recruiting coordinator, Missouri coach Barry Odom would prefer to build a program in the fashion one might expect from someone who worked in that ultracompetitive environment. Win recruiting battles, sign the best prospects possible and construct a deep, talented team.

“I’m excited about having a chance to hopefully put together the best group we’ve ever had,” Mizzou’s first-year head coach said last week at ESPN headquarters, “and then after this year, we’ll try to do it again next year.”

But if Odom hopes to enjoy the long-term success that predecessor Gary Pinkel did, he and his staff must continue one of the most important traditions of the Pinkel regime. The Tigers must remain specialists in talent development, taking in underrated and unnoticed athletes and turning raw potential into top-end results.

That was the cornerstone of Pinkel’s success, helping him become Mizzou’s all-time wins leader (118), with five division titles and 10 bowl appearances in 15 seasons. This after Mizzou enjoyed just two winning records in the 17 seasons preceding Pinkel’s arrival.

Run down the list of Missouri’s top players over the last decade. Sure, there are a few elite prospects, such as Terry Beckner Jr., Blaine Gabbert and Sheldon Richardson, who picked the Tigers from a long list of suitors. But there are far more notable signees -- Charles Harris, Shane Ray, Jeremy Maclin, Aldon Smith, Michael Sam, James Franklin, Kony Ealy, Henry Josey and Kentrell Brothers, just to name a handful -- who were three-star prospects or worse as high schoolers and became standout players under Pinkel’s watch.

Missouri in the NFL draft since 2012

Missouri has had 15 players drafted since 2012, the year it joined the SEC. Only three of those players earned four-star grades as high school prospects.

PLAYER	ESPN STAR GRADE	POSITION RANK	NFL DRAFT ROUND	YEAR
Evan Boehm	Four stars	No. 2 OG	Fourth	2016
Kentrell Brothers	Three	No. 117 OLB	Fifth	2016
Connor McGovern	NR	No. 40 OC	Fifth	2016
Shane Ray	Three	No. 35 DE	First	2015
Mitch Morse	Four	No. 19 OT	Second	2015
Markus Golden	NR	NR	Second	2015
Bud Sasser	Three	No. 63 WR	Sixth	2015
Marcus Murphy	Three	No. 90 RB	Seventh	2015
Kony Ealy	Three	No. 49 DE	Second	2014
Justin Britt	Three	No. 74 OT	Second	2014
E.J. Gaines	Three	No. 57 CB	Sixth	2014
Michael Sam	Three	No. 75 DE	Seventh	2014
Sheldon Richardson	Four	No. 8 DT	First	2013
Zaviar Gooden	NR	NR	Third	2013
Michael Egnew	NR	NR	Third	2012

Finding diamonds in the rough is a necessity at Missouri, as the Tigers’ home state is not well traveled in recruiting circles. In the last four recruiting classes combined, the state of Missouri had just nine prospects earn ESPN 300 status. This year alone, the state of Florida had 48 ESPN 300 players and Georgia produced 31.

When you’re in the same division as programs with such depth of talent in their home states, you’d better get creative -- and Pinkel’s staff did that as well as any of its FBS competitors. There was no magic formula, Odom said, but one valuable evaluation tool was observing how the athletes fared and competed when they played in sports besides football.

“There’s obviously a couple different components with it,” Odom said. “No. 1, when we recruit athletes, identifying an athlete that we think we can do a great job of coaching and turning and training him to be a football player. Also the inner drive that the kid has on wanting to be great. A multisport athlete, to me, that’s a positive. That’s a great thing. To be able to see him on different avenues and in different venues on being successful and competing. Then, development once they get on campus, and strength and conditioning.”

A perfect success story as a result of these methods is Harris, an All-SEC defensive end last season who did not play football until his junior season of high school. A basketball standout in Kansas City, Harris unquestionably was a project, but Mizzou’s coaches liked the frame and focus that could one day help Harris become an SEC-level pass-rusher.

“Charles Harris wants to be the best defensive end Missouri’s ever had and that’s important to him, and if you watch him practice on Tuesday afternoon, it looks like it’s game day,” Odom said. “He’s got some inner drive that’s really important.”

Harris is part of a position group that has been especially successful in the arena of talent development. Under former defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski, the Tigers regularly signed mid- and low-level prospects who went on to become stars. That tradition instilled a willingness with the Tigers’ defensive linemen to put in the work that would allow them to keep it up from year to year.

“At the defensive line specifically, that unit, that group, those guys that we have right now, they want to be better than last year’s group. And that group wanted to be better than the one before,” Odom said. “So there’s a carrying-the-torch a little bit in that they want to be the best. … And then they’ve received some pretty good coaching too.”

Without question. Pinkel and his staff won SEC East titles in 2013 and 2014 with rosters loaded with starters who were never considered blue-chippers. If Odom wins this fall, it will be done in similar fashion. Missouri’s recruiting class ranked 51st in ESPN’s 2016 team rankings, and the Tigers were the only SEC program that did not sign at least one ESPN 300 prospect.

That’s not necessarily a major issue -- Pinkel proved that -- but Odom’s ultimate success or failure at Mizzou likely will be determined by his ability to match Pinkel’s gift for turning leftovers into a gourmet meal.

Michael Sam hopes deadly Orlando shooting is 'a wake-up call for America'

In the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States at an Orlando gay club Sunday morning, Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL, issued a passionate plea to the rest of the country. Using Instagram to release his response, Sam also offered his condolences to the friends and loved ones of the 50 victims of the shooting.

In the caption, Sam wrote:

"To my brothers and sisters of the LGBTQ community please take the time to read this. If you have not already heard there was a terrible shooting at a gay night club in Orlando. It is not only a sad day for the #LGBTQ community, but for the American people. 50 people lost their lives because of a hateful coward with a gun. Let this hateful act of terror on the #LGBTQ community be a wake up call for America. Men and women of all races, ages, and sexual orientation are being slaughtered because of hate crimes. How many more must die from a hate crime? We need to create awareness for ALL to show that hate is not the foundation of our nation. Friends DO NOT let this coward put fear into your hearts!!! Let us all come together stronger than ever and let the world know that we will not be terrorized or bullied by the actions of hateful bigots. We are here to stay and fight not only for equality, but for our very existence. To the victims love ones of this terrible crime I and the entire#LGBTQ community in the world stands with you and mourns with you.#standwithorlando #prayfororlando #love #peace #lbgtq #pride"

And here's the photo that accompanied his message:

Sam, drafted by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft, has been out of football since a short stint with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League ended in 2015.

Other NFL players, like Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, also expressed their sadness.

Patriots' receiver Julian Edelman and Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had similar messages:

Michael Bennett “almost threw up” after hearing Sam Bradford comments

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett never minces words. On Tuesday, he used those words to turn Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford to mincemeat.

“I just almost threw up,” Bennett told ESPN 710 regarding Bradford’s abandoned desire to be traded after the Eagles traded up to No. 2 in the draft, via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. “I can’t believe Sam Bradford is complaining about making $40 million in the next two years, and because he actually has to compete for a position. This guy, this guy right here definitely sets a bad tone of what a player should be.

“If I was his teammate . . . how can you play with a guy that doesn’t want to compete at a high level and feels like his position should be solidified without even putting up the stats or the wins to back that up?”

Bennett’s remarks invite speculation regarding what Bradford’s teammates think, even though none of them have said anything about the situation. Chances are that if he performs well, nobody will say anything. If he struggles, however, it could make them more likely to get on the Carson Wentz bandwagon.

Michael Sam to Address Students at 14th Annual Class Day

National College Association of Athletics (NCAA) All-American Football Player and National Football League (NFL) Free Agent Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL, will address the graduating Class of 2016 on Emory’s 14th annual Class Day, according to Class Day Chair and Goizueta Business School senior Max Mayblum.

Sam will speak on Thursday, May 5, at Glenn Memorial Church.

“I am very pleased that [Sam] has agreed to speak at Class Day,” Michael Kloss, executive director for the Office of University Events, wrote in an email to the Wheel. “He is an inspiration[al] speaker and we look forward to hearing his presentation to the graduating seniors.”

Student input drove the Class Day speaker selection process, Mayblum said. A committee of 10 to 15 juniors and seniors was created with consideration to students’ involvement on campus, outside connections and previous experience with Class Day planning, Mayblum said. He added that the students on the committee are those “who best represent everyone in [their] senior class.”

Near the beginning of this semester, student committee members generated a preliminary list of potential speakers whom Kloss ultimately contacted based on feasibility, Mayblum said.

In addition to Sam, the list also included comedians Steve Harvey and Tyler Perry.

Macklemore, with whom an Emory student had a connection, was also on the committee’s list, but Macklemore was unavailable to speak at Class Day.

Emory’s first Class Day speaker was Danny Glover, followed by similarly well-known personalities such as Chelsea Handler, Adam Richman, Kenneth Cole, Ben and Jerry, Mia Farrow, Peyton Manning and Bill Nye, Kloss wrote.

However, Mayblum said that Emory’s past Class Day speakers have been “pretty homogenous in what they have to offer,” adding that, “No one that we’ve brought in the past has any story like Michael Sam’s.”

Mayblum said that he is excited for Emory to host Sam, and that he expects other students to express similar reactions. “The goal of this is to have someone who’s attractive to everyone in some sort of way,” he said.

Mayblum added that if students maintain open minds, they are guaranteed to “latch onto” something in Sam’s speech.

“Michael Sam made history with the NFL, so he’s going to really draw a lot of attraction from people who like sports, people who want to be involved with the LGBTQ community, people of color [and] people in Atlanta,” he said. “I think altogether, he’s a very well-rounded individual for the speech, and I think he has a really unique message to bring.”

Adam Lambert, Sam Smith, Michael Sam, Jussie Smollett, Clay Aiken: Out's Most Eligible Bachelors

Singers Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken and Sam Smith, football player Michael Smith and actor Jussie Smollett lead gay glossy Out's annual survey to find the planet's most dateable gay man.



Out is asking readers to vote on their favorites and will announce the winners next month.

Men nominated range from fashion icons to politicians to singers, including last year's winner, Adam Lambert.

Nominees looking to unseat Lambert include YouTuber Aaron Rhodes, actor/singer Jonathan Groff, figure skater Adam Rippon, actor Adrian Anchondo, TV personality Billy Eichner, singer Alejandro Ghersi, YouTuber Tyler Oakley, actor/singer Alex Newell, director Andrew Haigh, model Nyle Dimarco, TV personality Andy Cohen, actor Anthony Wayne, singer Aubrey Allicock, YouTuber Austin Rhodes, actor Andrew Scott, fashion designer Alexander Wang, actor/singer Billy Porter, football player Brad Thorson, actor Charlie Carver, CEO Chris Salgardo, author Christopher Stoddard, designer Cliff Fong, SVP Joe Valentino, TV personality Frankie Grande, actor Cole Doman, actor Colman Domingo, activist Deray Mckesson, actor Drew Droege, singer Eli Lieb, model Eric Rutherford, blogger Frank Lowe, baseball player David Denson, singer Frank Ocean, actor/writer Gabe Liedman, director Gregg Araki, comedian Jeffery Self, YouTuber Joey Graceffa, designer John Targon, figure skater Johnny Weir, actor Jonny Beauchamp, entrepreneur Lorenzo Martone, YouTuber Kyle Krieger, model Jon Kortajarena, rugby player Keegan Hirst, powerlifter Kinnon Mackinnon, YouTuber Korey Kuhl, model Laith Ashley de la Cruz, singer Le1f, singer Ricky Martin, designer Marc Jacobs, politician Mark Takano, author Marlon James, football player Mason Darrow, wrestler Matt Cage, actor/singer Matt Doyle, actor Matt Mckelligon, actor Matthew Risch, social media star Max Emerson, singer Michael Angelakos, actor Michael J. Willett, singer Mike Hadreas, actor Murray Bartlett, singer Neil Ahmin Smith, fashion icon Nick Wooster, singer Olly Alexander, actor Omar Sharif, Jr., activist Rory O'Neill, actor Paul Locano, TV writer Peter Nowalk, YouTuber Raymond Braun, CEO Tim Cook, actor Reid Ewing, designer Riccardo Tisci, director Xavier Dolan, illustrator Richard Haines, singer Rod Thomas, author Sam Lansky, designer Scott Studenberg, dancer Ryan Steele, squash player Sean Conroy, singer Shamir, YouTuber Shane Dawson, bodybuilder Shawn Stinson, designer Shayne Oliver, singer Zebra Katz, rugby player Simon Dunn, singer Steve Grand, reality star Tamal Ray, actor Tarell Alvin Mccraney, fashion icon Tim Gunn, actor Tituss Burgess, choreographer Trajal Harrell, singer Tyler Glenn, and actor Wilson Cruz.

A Super Bowl meet-and-greet with Michael Sam

SAN FRANCISCO — In a week of endless parties, events, and promotional gimmicks—that’s Jerry Rice driving your Lyft! Play flag football with Joe Montana!—this one seemed especially fitting for a Bay Area Super Bowl: Michael Sam at Hi-Tops, a gay sports bar in the Castro, for a happy hour meet-and-greet Friday night to benefit the Sports Equality Foundation.

The crowd arrived early—mainly men, mostly excited. They ordered pints of Lagunitas IPA and drinks like the Berry Zito (vodka, blackberry puree, ginger, champagne and lime). Flatscreens showed the Nets-Kings and Mavs-Spurs. Near the entrance, Jesse Woodward, the co-owner of Hi Tops, waited nervously. A former high school basketball player, Woodward has season tickets to the Warriors and is friends with Rick Welts, the team’s president and chief of operations (and the first prominent American sports executive to come out). It was Welts who, along with Cyd Ziegler of Outsports, helped arrange the event; Welts knows Sam and invited him out for the weekend. Sam, with an open schedule, flew out but, since all the hotels in San Francisco were booked, he was crashing at Woodward’s apartment, three blocks away. And now he was 45 minutes late for the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, which concerned Woodward because, well, it’s not like you can get stuck in traffic going three blocks.

But then, near the front of the bar, a roar erupted. Sam walked in in a white T-shirt, black jacket, slacks and loafers, holding a steady smile. Dozens of cell phones shot in the air. To these men, Sam is a combination of celebrity, hero and role model. Sam grinned, posed, hugged and shook hands, eventually making his way over to a corner where he took photos with an orderly line of fans. A pair of men in North Face jackets and business attire. An older man in 49ers gear. “Thank you,” some said. Others asked about football. Sam’s narrative is now familiar: SEC Defensive Player of the Year at Missouri, first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL, spent training camp with the Rams, made the Cowboys practice squad, then a brief stint in the CFL. Recently, he announced he was going to try to make the NFL again. “I’m excited to give it another shot,” he said during a break. He says he’s training in Los Angeles at Unbreakable, Jay Glazer’s gym, and feels good. This trip is part fun and part symbolic. Said Sam: “I’m out here because this is the gay capital of America and I want to show my love and support for the community.”

The event benefited the Sports Equality Foundation, which launched last month. The idea: that the best way to affect change is not necessarily through awareness or campaigns but for athletes to come out. So, just as Ziegler once helped prep Sam for his interviews, SEF aims to provide resources to LGBT athletes as they prepare to come out and then support and guide them in becoming role models and changing the culture. The organization’s advisory board includes former NBA center Jason Collins, former MLB outfielder Billy Bean, and ESPN baseball writer Christina Kahrl.

Watching from a nearby table, Ken Goff, an entrepreneur and organizer for the San Francisco Gay Basketball Association, said he hopes more pro athletes follow Sam’s lead but understands why some are reluctant. “I’ve been openly gay for a while but I didn’t walk into my place of employment on the first day and shout, ‘I’m gay’!” he said. “You don’t want that to be what defines you.”

Around 7:30, Welts arrived. Though he’s known Sam for a couple years, Welts said he’s never met him in person. On his way over, he exchanged a hug with Woodward, who is lobbying Welts to put a Hi Tops in the Warriors’ new arena complex (it’s one of the restaurants currently in the running). It does seem a natural fit.

As the night rolled on, the bar became more packed, though not everyone was there for Sam. At Goff’s table, a tall blonde man in his twenties noticed the commotion and asked who it was.

“Michael Sam,” he’s told. “You know, the football player?”

The man paused for a second, as if trying to place the name. Then he remembered. “Oh!” he said. “We just matched on Tinder yesterday!”

It's All About 'Muscle'

The Obama administration—easily the most ideologically progressive in modern American history—has been accompanied by both liberal triumphalism and liberal outrage.

Three major protest movements have marked the Obama era: Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and the as-yet-unnamed campus protests that began at the University of Missouri and Yale and have now spread across the country. The Occupy movement failed utterly. The Black Lives Matter movement has been on a fast track to irrelevance, its only success having been to discipline Democratic presidential candidates to deny that "all" lives matter, while insisting that "black" lives do.

The campus protests are different. At one school after another, protesters have achieved the resignation and/or humiliation of high officials. They have extorted a great deal of money. They have tried to establish new conventions for the behavior of the media and have even intensified what may prove to be a serious debate about the future of the First Amendment. And in all of this it has become clear that the campus protests aren't about race or privilege or safe spaces. They're about power.

Seen from a certain angle, the campus protests are anomalous—the result of a freakishly improbable chain of events. If Michael Brown had not been shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, there would be no Black Lives Matter movement. The Concerned Student 1950 protests that grew out of Black Lives Matter this fall could not have happened at any school other than the University of Missouri, because while Ferguson was national news, it was also an intensely local story. And the Mizzou campus is a two-hour drive from Ferguson.

The chain gets longer. University of Missouri system president Tim Wolfe was unpopular for all sorts of reasons having nothing to do with race. For instance, he was appointed president in 2011 despite a total lack of academic experience. As sportswriter Jason Whitlock noted, the school's curators "plucked Wolfe out of the unemployment line," for no discernible reason, at the end of a closed hiring process that reeked of favoritism.

Even so, Wolfe probably could have survived Concerned Student 1950. Except that one of the protest leaders, a 25-year-old black graduate student named Jonathan Butler, went on a well-publicized hunger strike, declaring that he would eat again only once Wolfe was out of his job. (Butler, by the way, comes from an extremely wealthy family in Omaha. His father, a railroad executive, made $8.4 million last year. In the Occupy era, he would have been part of the villainous 1 percent.) But even Butler's hunger strike probably wouldn't have mattered except that the former high-school football player was friendly with a number of players on the Mizzou team. (Mizzou's most famous liberal activist/football alum, the gay former defensive end Michael Sam, stopped by early on to lend support to Butler.)

Meanwhile, the Mizzou team was mired in a terrible season. They were 4-5 with a locker room divided over a quarterback controversy. Inspired by Butler's example, some of the black players decided that, since the team's season was effectively over, they would "strike"—that is, refuse to fulfill the obligations of their athletic scholarships—until Wolfe was gone. In an ordinary situation, you might expect the coach to step in and enforce some order. After all, supporting mutiny against a sitting university president guarantees that no other university president will ever hire you for another coaching job. But again, there was a wrinkle: Head coach Gary Pinkel had recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and was in the process of checking out of his career.

Missouri promotes Barry Odom to head coaching role

Missouri has named defensive coordinator Barry Odom as its new head coach.

Odom, 39, agreed to a five-year contract to replace Gary Pinkel, who retired earlier this month due to health reasons.

"We had the opportunity to visit with a number of excellent coaches throughout our search. At the conclusion of that process, coach Odom was the clear choice to serve as our next coach," said Missouri athletic director Mack Rhoades in a release from the school. "He is a man of high integrity and possesses all the qualities you look for in a successful head coach."

Odom began at Missouri since 2003, beginning as an administrative graduate assistant before joining the coaching staff as a safeties coach in 2009. He was Memphis' defensive coordinator from 2012-2014 before returning to Missouri this season. His 2015 defense ranked No. 9 in the nation this year in allowing 302 yards per game.

The move will help maintain one of the SEC's top defenses. Prior to Odom's return in 2015, Missouri won back-to-back SEC East titles with a stellar pass rush featuring eventual NFL draft picks such as Kony Ealy, Michael Sam, Shane Ray and Markus Golden.

Odom's salary remains unclear. He'll be introduced in a news conference Friday.

Memphis hired its new coach Thursday as well, naming Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Norvell replaces Justin Fuente, who led the Tigers to a 9-3 season before accepting the coaching opening at Virginia Tech earlier this week.

Out NFL player Michael Sam: My career could have gone better if I’d never come out

The first openly gay NFL player, Michael Sam, has admitted his career might have gone better if he had stayed in the closet.

Sam became the first openly gay player in NFL history when he came out as gay last year – and has since had brief spells with the NFL’s St Louis Rams, the Dallas Cowboys, and Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes.

However, he crashed out of the sport last month citing mental health issues, and has since re-enrolled in school.

Sam has now made a sad admission – that things might have gone better if he had just stayed in the closet.

He told NBCSN talk show host Dan Patrick: “I wanted to come out after I made an NFL roster, it really wasn’t supposed to be public. It was just supposed to be to the team, as I did at the University of Missouri.

He added that he came out publicly partly because reporters were already aware of his sexuality, from his time at university, and that he feared it may be leaked.

The player added: “I wanted to be the one to tell my own story. I didn’t want someone to tell it for me.”

The defensive player previously indicated he would step away from sport for now, though he plans to return in the future.

He tweeted: “So I got admitted to University Of Missouri Grad program this week.”

“I enrolled in Grad school this Fall to further my education, while I train to get back to football!!!”

Speaking about his reasons for quitting previously, he said: “The last 12 months have become very difficult for me to the point where I became concerned for my mental health.

“Because of this, I am going to step away from the game at this time. I thank the Alouettes for this opportunity and hope to be back on the field soon.

“Thank you all for your understanding and support.”

Martin Freeman Says He’s Not Homophobic For Calling Out JohnLock, Michael Sam Wishes He’d Come Out Later: MEME

Homophobic Pastor destroyed on "The Doctors," Selena Gomez covers "Rude" without changing pronouns, Daniel Pintauro comes out as HIV+

When Tim Cook was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he was asked about Steve Jobs, which portrays the Apple founder in a less than positive light, and Cook said “I think a lot of people are trying to be opportunistic and I hate this. It’s not a great part of our world.” Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the film, called him out for defending his late friend and boss. “Nobody did this movie to get rich. Secondly, Tim Cook should really see the movie before he decides what it is. Third, if you’ve got a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour you’ve got a lot of nerve calling someone else opportunistic.”

Sony

Hotel Transylvania 2 is set to become Adam Sandler’s best opening film yet, with $46 million for the weekend, and good reviews. The Intern will take second place with $18 million, while the other wide opener, The Green Inferno, which many have called racist, is set to make the top ten with $3 million.

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In Germany, the Bundesrat, or upper house, passed a bill recognizing marriage equality over the objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who doesn’t want the law changed. The bill now goes to the upper house, the Bundestag.

Fox

Al Jean says that in the 27th season of The Simpsons, Smithers finally comes out of the closet. “In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t. We deal with that in two episodes. … We actually do a lot with Smithers this year; he gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.”

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Fresh off of hurling a gay slur as she was disembarking from a flight, Azealia Banks says “oh well imagine how I wanna spray a gay man in the face with pepper spray everytime he calls me a bitch a slut or a hoe. Kiss my ass. Goodnight.” I won’t stoop to calling her a bitch or a hoe, but I will call her a horrible person who only gets press for the awful way she lives her life rather than her music.

Jeb Bush thinks that he can win the black vote by encouraging a positive message rather than bribing them. “Our message is one of hope and aspiration. It isn’t one of division and get in line and we’ll take care of you with free stuff. Our message is one that is uplifting — that says you can achieve earned success.” So your version of hope to to call them a bunch of moochers that want to live off handouts? Not really aspirational.

It’s official, Caitlyn is now legally a woman named Caitlyn Jenner. While it’s a formality compared to her brave declaration this year, it’s an important milestone in the journey any trans individual takes towards being their true self.

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Martin Freeman is worried that because he reminds people that Sherlock and Watson aren’t gay, people will think he’s homophobic. “They’re not actually f***ing. It is possible for people of the same sex to have a deep friendship without being attracted to each other. People are attracted to each other in all sorts of ways. You don’t necessarily want to [sleep with] someone because you love them. They respect each other, they bring different things to their friendship. It’s a friendship. Way more has been made in the ether of that relationship than has ever been put in the show. The trouble is as soon as you start getting into a dialogue about that, it sounds like you‘re somehow being homophobic.” Actually, it’s not that you say it, or any other star says that the character they play isn’t gay that upsets people. It’s how you say it.

OWN

Not only did Who’s the Boss star Daniel Pintauro talk about drug use in the LGBT community on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, he also revealed that he’s been HIV+ for 12 years now. “I was living in New York at the time and completely clueless to the idea that I was positive. I went in for a regular checkup. It was just regular blood work. You go in, and you sort of waited two weeks on pins and needles — or at least I did, because I was just terrified of the idea of getting HIV.” At the time, he had just come out of a two year relationship and wanted to experiment sexually. “I was doing crystal meth, which completely ruins your immune system. I’d been doing it at that point very briefly, but it was three weeks or so, off and on. I had just come out of a two-year relationship, and I discovered in that relationship that there was more I wanted to explore sexually. Crystal meth takes away your inhibitions… And if you want to explore that adventurous side, taking the drug is going to put you there. I was experimenting. And believe it or not, I thought that I was being safe in that encounter. I know exactly when it happened.”
Michael Sam called in to The Dan Patrick Show to talk about what happened in Montreal, what his future plans were, and what he might have done differently over the last year. One of the big points is that Sam would not have come out when he did. “I wanted to come out after I made an NFL roster. It really wasn’t supposed to be public.” Still he has no regrets about coming out, or allowing the cameras into his home for the draft, and that famous kiss. He does seem to harbor some ill will towards his advisers.
When Selena Gomex stopped by the BBC One Live Lounge to perform Magic’s “Rude” she didn’t give us a groundbreaking arrangement, nor really even a stellar vocal performance. But one thing she did do was leave all the genders in tact, so that she’s singing about asking for the had of a man’s daughter, which considering the storyline of a traditional father who wants a specific life for his daughter becomes all the more powerful when it’s done as a same-sex proposal.
The Doctors invited anti-gay pastor Josh Feuerstein on the show to talk about his Christian views on gender and sexuality and parenting, and put him face to face with Mikki Willis, the dad who rose to viral fame after celebrating his son picking out a Little Mermaid doll. What’s striking about all of this isn’t the content – we know what Feuerstein is going to say before he says it. What struck me was that nobody was on his side. The doctors jumped all over it about sexuality being innate, while gender was more complicated than toys. And the audience had zero fucks to give about his opinion.