2013 NFL Combine: Florio says teams want to know if Te'o is gay

[JonJon]

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports, NFL coaches and GMs want to know if Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o is gay.

"On the field, you still have to account for what happened in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama," Florio told the Dan Patrick Show. "Here's the elephant in the room for the teams and it shouldn't matter, but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL. Teams want to know whether Manti Te'o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it's a different world. It shouldn't be that way."

Florio isn't the first to raise the question of NFLDraftScout.com's second-ranked inside linebacker, but he's the first to discuss the factor (nonfactor?) in an open public forum. Whether NFL teams actually asked the question in one-on-one interviews -- Te'o said he met with 20 teams at the combine before working out with linebackers Monday -- is doubtful.

"I don't think you can ask that question -- because of the Dez Bryant question (he was asked by Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland if his mother was a prostitute) of a few years ago," Florio said. "If you go Katie Couric on Manti Te'o, it's going to come out that some team, some GM some coach asked Manti Te'o if he's gay. Then you'll have to deal with all the distraction and all the stuff that flows after that."

[Full Article]

 

[Future]

It's pathetic if teams would allow his sexuality to affect his draft stock.

 

[RS12]

Jerry is said to be interested in drafting him.

 

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

Think the fear is what if a team drafted Te'o, and any of the other players suspect he is after them?

 

[Teague31]

Between this, the hoax and mediocre combine numbers he'll be lucky to go in the first.

 

[Avery]

Legally, asking such a question would be a stupid think for a front office to do.

An NFL team is no different than any other 'interview' and ENDA would come into play here. You could open yourself up to some fierce litigation if you were actually asked this.

 

[newlander]

Jerry is said to be interested in drafting him.

....the latest senility out of his mouth about the Oline not being a high priority is just more proof he doesn't truly care about winning. Also, his diarrhea of the mouth about moving Free "inside" is just.......:laugh1:

 

[Nomad]

I think the concern would be that it would cause a distraction and a media circus so to speak if he were to eventually become openly gay or be found out in some way.

I'm not saying I agree with it one way or the other, just a guess as to what a team's concern would be.

 

[Nirvana]

it's a legit question and would explain a lot, and with a locker room full of men it's safer to pass on him if he is gay. Forget political correctness, some guys are going to have a problem with it, and that lack of chemistry spells trouble.

 

[jobberone]

Stop the insensitive remarks people.

 

[rags747]

If true maybe a team will be willing to give him his own shower stall.

 

[ceerrece]

Even if front offices think that his sexual preferences are important to their standards, they would be very stupid to asking that question... i was wondering if one player could file a legal suit against a team alleging discrimination for something like this.

 

[tyke1doe]

I think a team should have a concern about a gay player, particularly with respect to the locker room issue.

I think our desire to accommodate homosexuality in our society makes us a bit stupid and lacking common sense.

We wouldn't put a woman or a man in a woman's locker room because of the nature of sexuality. I don't think there are too many married men that, if they had to share a locker or intimate quarters with a woman, would not at least look or entertain lustful thoughts. That's just the nature of sexual attraction.

Yet when it comes to homosexuals, somehow they're not supposed to feel the same dynamics a heterosexual would when they're naturally attracted to people of the same sex?

Look, I'm not saying a gay player shouldn't be in the NFL. I just think we try to bend over backwards on this issue when, really, it's an issue that should promote serious discussion rather than labeling anyone who has some object as being homophobic or discriminatory.

(Moderators, if this is too much please eliminate my post. But I don't think I said anything too inflamatory.)

 

[speedkilz88]

I believe he has already been asked the question and said no. This really should have ended with his answer whether people believe him or not.

 

[17yearsandcounting]

Personally I'd rather know why he spent the national championship game embedded into the turf.

 

[ThrowuptheXDez88]

Lets be honest guys, if Cooper/Warmack/Floyd/Richardson/and Vaccaro are off the board, that would be a pretty awesome LB core to watch.. He had 1 tough game against Alabama, but we know how good the kid was before that. I have a good feeling we could count on him to come in right away and make an impact, whereas an Ansah is still a project that is learning the game. By the way, who are you guys hoping that 3rd LB is? A guy already on the roster, or are you going to get him in the draft?

 

[17yearsandcounting]

Lets be honest guys, if Cooper/Warmack/Floyd/Richardson/and Vaccaro are off the board, that would be a pretty awesome LB core to watch.. He had 1 tough game against Alabama, but we know how good the kid was before that. I have a good feeling we could count on him to come in right away and make an impact, whereas an Ansah is still a project that is learning the game. By the way, who are you guys hoping that 3rd LB is? A guy already on the roster, or are you going to get him in the draft?

If Te'o wasnt ND's latest media darling, no one would be talking first round for him. He is the Brady Quinn of linebackers, dont get sucked into the Domer hype machine.

 

[JonJon]

I think a team should have a concern about a gay player, particularly with respect to the locker room issue.

I think our desire to accommodate homosexuality in our society makes us a bit stupid and lacking common sense.

We wouldn't put a woman or a man in a woman's locker room because of the nature of sexuality. I don't think there are too many married men that, if they had to share a locker or intimate quarters with a woman, would not at least look or entertain lustful thoughts. That's just the nature of sexual attraction.

Yet when it comes to homosexuals, somehow they're not supposed to feel the same dynamics a heterosexual would when they're naturally attracted to people of the same sex?

Look, I'm not saying a gay player shouldn't be in the NFL. I just think we try to bend over backwards on this issue when, really, it's an issue that should promote serious discussion rather than labeling anyone who has some object as being homophobic or discriminatory.

(Moderators, if this is too much please eliminate my post. But I don't think I said anything too inflamatory.)

That's an interesting point. If he is homosexual though, I am sure he has already experienced the locker room dynamics plenty already and should no how to control/contain himself. If he has a history of sexual misconduct, then it would be a major problem. The only issue really is that it could potentially make the other players in the locker room feel awkward knowing that another guy in there might be examining their physique too closely.

 

[IAmLegend]

It's pathetic if teams would allow his sexuality to affect his draft stock.

This.

 

[burmafrd]

Personally I'd rather know why he spent the national championship game embedded into the turf.

well I guess you did not notice that the Bama O line totally owned the ND d line.

But details like that seem to escape you I notice.