On February 9, 2014, Michael Sam publicly declared he was a homosexual. Will Middlebrooks Jersey . 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. Cole Hamels Jersey . Cleveland has won the first two of this set and has won six straight games since losing back-to-back tilts to open the year. Seattle, on the other hand, has now lost six in a row following consecutive wins to kick off its campaign. Adrian Beltre Jersey .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. http://www.rangersapparelsshop.com/rougned-odor-jersey-c-14/ . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- After struggling to score any goals for four games, the San Jose Sharks had plenty of moves left for a shootout. Joe Thornton capped San Joses perfect shootout with a nifty toe-drag past Corey Crawford that helped the Sharks snap a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. "What a move," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "Really nice to watch. That must have been in his bag for a long time because Ive been here for six years and I hadnt seen that. Its nice that it came out." Joe Pavelski scored a short-handed goal in regulation and opened the shootout with a goal, and Patrick Marleau also scored in the tiebreaker for the Sharks, who have won six straight shootouts. Antti Niemi made 29 saves and stopped Patrick Sharp in the second round of the shootout. After Pavelski and Marleau scored in the first two rounds of the shootout, Thornton ended it when he dragged the puck around Crawford and knocked it in the empty net. Thornton has scored on all three shootout attempts this season after not even attempting one the previous three seasons. "I was just lucky enough that it went in," Thornton said. "Usually he likes putting me fourth but with so many guys out, I got moved up a slot, which is nice on the ego." "Not making a save in the shootout was the only thing that bothered me," Crawford said. "We played well and we had our chances to win, a couple of chances late. Our guys were doing a great job of not allowing many second chances." The teams traded goals early in the third during a Chicago power play with Brad Stuart off for hooking Patrick Kane. Pavelski got the scoring started with a short-handed goal after a bad breakout pass from Sharp. Scott Hannan quickly sent the puck back to Pavelski, who knocked the pass down, skated past Duncan Keith and beat Crawford high for his 29th goal. "We get a little tip on it and it turns into a fluttering puck," Pavelski said. "Next tthing you know, you see it laying there, and if you can win the race, youve got a chance. Russell Wilson Jersey. I was able to get just enough of an opening to make a shot." Just over a minute later, Saad answered late in the power play after Justin Braun failed to clear the puck from the defensive zone. Kris Versteeg fed Saad, who beat Niemi for his 18th goal. That was Chicagos third power-play goal in two games after having just one the previous seven. Crawford kept the game tied when he made a pad save at the goal line on a one-timer by Stuart, and the Blackhawks killed a late penalty to force overtime. San Jose is 0-for-16 on the power play the past six games. The game was scoreless after two periods despite both teams getting quality scoring chances but were unable to get past either Niemi or Crawford. Kane hit a post early in the first period for Chicago, and Dan Boyle got robbed by the crossbar later in the first for San Jose. Niemi made a strong pad save to rob Ben Smith in the first period and withstood a couple of frantic flurries near his net in the second. Niemi also was helped when Marian Hossa missed the net off a nice setup by Saad during a power play late in the second period. The Sharks put 22 shots on net against Crawford in the first two periods, generating heavy pressure during a second period power play for too many men on the ice. But Crawford was up to the task. San Jose was attacking at the end of the second, and Marleau had a prime chance when he batted a puck from midair in the slot toward the net in the closing seconds. "It was a playoff type atmosphere," Versteeg said. "Time and space were virtually non-existent and thats when you need to play smart." NOTES: Jason Demers, who leads San Jose defenceman with 24 points, was scratched with a lower-body injury. ... Chicago F Michal Handzus returned to San Jose for the first time since being dealt to the Blackhawks last March. ... The Sharks reassigned F John McCarthy to Worcester of the AHL after he cleared waivers. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '