mpts to fight off Jonathan Bernier for the number one gig in goal. More might even be expected of Phil Kessel,

On February 9, 2014, Michael Sam publicly declared he was a homosexual. The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. The watershed announcement gives rise to a bit of a legal minefield and the league and teams will look to ensure that no lines are crossed. Lets break it down. Does the NFL have any rules any place protecting homosexuals from discrimination? They do have protection for homosexual players, although it wont apply unless Sam gets drafted. Article 49 of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement provides that you cant discriminate against a player on the basis of "race, religion, national origin" or "sexual orientation". The reference to "sexual orientation" is brand new in the CBA, and the other 3 major sports also have a similar provision. Heres the catch: the CBA wont apply to Sam if hes not drafted. While the CBA provides that it covers all "present and future" players, it still restricts that player pool to drafted rookies or undrafted players who are negotiating with a team. If undrafted, Sam wouldnt qualify as either type of player. So that means if Sam goes undrafted, the NFL CBA wont apply to him. Is that it? Is there nothing else protecting a player like Sam? There is, but its not perfect. Theres no federal law prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation. The existence of such a law would be ideal for Sam since it wouldnt matter where he would end playing since a federal law covers the entire country. There are laws at the state level, although not every state has them. In all, 21 states have laws on the books that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the context of private employers. So that shakes out to 27 of the 32 NFL teams being the subject of gay employment protection laws. So which teams are in states where there arent state or other local laws protecting gay people? The five teams are as follows: Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. Heres the big question: if Michael Sam is not drafted, can he sue and win? Indeed, that is the big question. Sam is projected to be a mid to late round pick. In order to be successful in a lawsuit against the league he will need to show that he was not drafted because he is a homosexual. That can be tough in the context of a draft – even if it is true. We have seen the draft stock of players inexplicably drop in all the sports. We routinely see players drafted a lot later (or earlier) than projected. Apart from the top prospects, drafts can be highly unpredictable. Indeed, drafts are complicated beasts and it can be hard to show that a player wasnt drafted simply because he is gay. To have a shot at winning a lawsuit, Sam would need strong evidence supporting his case. He would be looking for things like incriminating statements or emails that provide that a team conspired not to draft Sam because of his sexuality. That may not be easy to find. Teams may pass on Sam because he is gay, but just never say it. Ultimately, Sam would need a smoking gun, and absent that he would have a tough time winning a lawsuit. Do you think teams will take a pass on Sam because hes gay? Reason would suggest that some teams may shy away from Sam because he is gay. From a philosophical standpoint, some executives may not be comfortable with the idea of a gay player. Other teams may not have an issue with his sexuality, but may still take a pass because they fear he will become a distraction. Indeed, we have already heard anonymous executives express this sentiment. While some may believe he could become a distraction, and by extension adversely affect his team, it seems unlikely to be the case. The NFL is filled with real and legitimate distractions: DUIs, domestic violence, vehicular manslaughter, murder and whatever Dez Bryant did last Sunday. None of these events have led to the downfall of a team or the demise of the league. And most certainly something as innocuous and irrelevant as a players sexuality wont become a problem. Djibril Sidibe Jersey . A rainy day saw the former champion Djokovic handle 14th-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) under the roof on the famed Centre Court. Olivier Giroud France Jersey . LOUIS -- St. http://www.soccerfrancenationalshop.us/R...-France-Jersey/. PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Djibril Sidibe France Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Blank France Jerseys . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta.TORONTO – Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis was not consumed this past summer with the stinging string of moments that led to his teams demise on that fateful night in Boston last May. “I spent a lot more time thinking about the fact we proved to ourselves we can compete with that team,” Nonis said at the outset of training camp on Wednesday morning. “Youre not forgetting what happened, but I havent spent, literally five minutes thinking about it. Its dwelling on a negative that I think we shouldnt dwell on. We should dwell on the opposite: that were not where we need to be, but were a lot closer than we were 24 months ago.” Gone is the cloud of a nine-year playoff absence and all the lingering disappointment and failures it brought with it. In this fall comes a Leafs team that will aim for another rung on the ladder, a belief that the success attained in lockout 2013 was just one incremental step toward a far greater goal. “Our expectations have gone up,” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle bellowed shortly after Nonis. “Everything cant stay the same …We have to push for a higher level, if its compete, if its efficiency, if its skill, desire, all those words that you want to use, were going to have to push for more. This group has got to be prepared to give us more than they gave us last year and weve got to do it over an 82-game schedule.” That will mean another step forward from the recently inked Nazem Kadri, the still unsigned Cody Franson, and James van Riemsdyk, who thrived with a veteran know-how in the postseason. More will be asked of Jake Gardiner, who struggled last year post-concussion and yet went on to wreak havoc when he entered the lineup against the Bruins. More will be demanded from James Reimer as he attempts to fight off Jonathan Bernier for the number one gig in goal. More might even be expected of Phil Kessel, the now 26-year-old rising to new heights opposite his former team following another regular season amongst the NHLs scoring leaders. “We want to make sure that we build off the things that we created last year,” said Carlyle. Preferring to focus on the long-awaited march into the postseason and near knockout of the Bruins – and not the untimely Game 7 unraveling – Nonis hopes that his team gleaned a belief that it could compete with the very best the league has to offer, that the assembled collection was capable of chasing down a team of Bostons caliber and very nearly toppling such a giant. “It allowed them to believe in themselves,” Nonis stated of last years group, which included 14 players appearing in their first postseason game. “Until you actually go out there and do it I dont think you can honestly say that we did believe, but they learned to [believe].” “We feel we can compete with those teams,” he continued. “Bostons a pretty good hockey team. They went right to the very end [losing in the Stanley Cup final]. We can learn some lessons from them too. We want to become a team ultimately that can compete for a championship. Were not there yet. There are lessons to be learned. We hopefully learned some right there and theres a lot more along the way that were going to have to pick up and figure out if we want to become one of those teams.” While Nonis says that he was not consumed from the perils of Game 7, including the fall from a 4-1 third period lead, he does concede to thoughts of what mightve been.dddddddddddd. Analyzing the series in its entirety, those thoughts continued to hover back to the series opener, a one-sided 4-1 beat-down, “the biggest lesson of all for our group”. “We really felt and our players felt that they were prepared for it,” said Nonis of the loss, which saw many Leafs dazed in the headlights of postseason hockey. “But watch that tape and we werent.” A different team emerged in Game 2, one that swiped a 4-2 victory from the Bruins in the hostile confines of TD Garden, a match that was highlighted by Carlyles creative approach to freeing Phil Kessel from Zdeno Chara, the former rising with an increasingly dominant performance against a former team. And from there the series tightened to the end points of Game 7. “Players that maybe dont back-check as hard on a regular basis began to do it,” Nonis recalled of the shift in tone versus the Bruins. “Collectively we pushed them to do things that they hadnt normally done and it allowed us to have a little bit of success.” For Carlyle, the lesson moving forward lies in accountability. “There are growing pains that take place in team sports and we experienced one of them,” he said of the momentous defeat. “But were responsible for that. Were not shying away from it. As a coaching staff, we have to take our fair share of responsibility for that also and weve done that. Were not putting our players out on an island and saying ‘You shouldve did this and you shouldve did that.Were putting ourselves in the same boat and saying ‘We shouldve done some things, we had a chance to do some things that we shouldve initiated, we shouldve been the stimulus. Thats all part of it. “Thats the way this group is going to take the step forward is we accept responsibility for our actions, try to learn from them as much as possible and attack the next one straight on.” “…when youre in a position where there is no turning back, you learn a lot about people,” Nonis added. “You learn a lot about what theyre going to do and how theyre going to compete and if theyre people you want to keep around.” Gone are Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Matt Frattin, Ben Scrivens and Ryan OByrne, replaced by an infusion of postseason fortitude in the form of Dave Bolland and David Clarkson, the former capturing the Cup with the Blackhawks, ultimately topping those very same Bruins with the shocking winner in Game 7. Additionally added from the Kings is increased strength in goal with Bernier. “I think when you bring players in that have gone through that and have won, that have gone through the adversity to win a championship, they can pass on a lot to the players around them,” said Nonis, stressing Bollands run with Chicago this past spring and once previously in 2010. The Leafs hope that the added know-how of Bolland and Clarkson, Berniers predicted ascension, and continued growth from a stock of young talent will initiate another step forward in the building process. But they know theyll need even more. “In our opinion, weve taken some significant steps forward,” concluded Nonis. “We still believe as a group that we have a lot to learn and a lot to do. And its only to get harder, its not going to get easier for us.” White NFL Jerseys Cheap Youth NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '

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