The kiss mattered. It mattered as much as Michael Sam, a Missouri Tigers defensive end, proclaiming publicly that he is gay. It mattered as much as the speculation about how that announcement might affect the draft status of the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. It mattered as much as his name finally being called—in the seventh and final round, 249th overall, by the St. Louis Rams.
It mattered because the person he loves, who happens to be a man, was there to share it with him and in the most human of moments, the emotion of a dream being realized, they embraced.
And the kiss mattered because of the outpouring of support and adulation it caused—countered by a firestorm of disgust. It mattered because professional football is the most popular sport in a society still littered with bigotry—‘hate the sin but love the sinner’ platitudes and ‘OK be gay, but not on my TV’ complaints of City on a Hill moralists who puff out righteousness while completely missing the message of the faith they espouse and the freedom they enjoy. The kiss was an affront to that bigotry. It mattered because those voices are being pushed to the margins and reduced to weak, whiny arguments that their rights are being violated when they’re called out for ignorance.
ESPN was there and made no apologies—that mattered. People stuck around to watch, three days after the draft began, for the final round—that mattered. NFL teams quickly admonished current and former players who couldn’t help but share their disgust. In Canada, the CFL and Calgary Stampeders hammered Stamps receiver Maurice Price after he tweeted homophobic comments about Sam.
This kiss mattered, because really, it was the natural thing for a thrilled human being to do. To celebrate with the person you love—in Sam’s case, boyfriend Vito Cammisano.
There have been well-considered arguments that Sam should have gone higher in the draft—Sam himself voiced that opinion—and arguments that he shouldn’t have been drafted at all. In the end, I think, those matter little.
The truth is there is a good chance Sam will never be an NFL superstar, but that also doesn’t matter, because he already slammed down the biggest wall in front of him. Hopefully others will charge on through.
Regardless of where Sam ends up—on the Rams’ special teams, on the defensive line, or cut from training camp—he was able to have this brief, wonderful moment and to share it proudly. In the end, that’s what mattered most.