Should the NFL Have Made Calls on Michael Sam's Behalf?

Last week, the Dallas Cowboys signed Michael Sam to their practice team.

It was a surprise to many who thought Sam would either re-sign with the St Louis Rams or wouldn't be signed at all.

It was especially startling when he was signed by the Cowboys.

There's speculation that commissioner Roger Goodell called teams around the league, encouraging them to sign Sam. Whether or not this actually happened has yet to be confirmed.

Sam represented himself well during the pre-season, with three sacks in three games and five tackles in one game, so this wasn't exactly a pity pick-up for the 'Boys.

But if the rumors have merit, should the NFL have injected itself into personnel matters? And is it fair to the other players? Why should Sam get special treatment because of his sexuality?

I can understand why the NFL would do it, but would taking action like this be necessary? Probably. For as good as Sam was, it's clear teams were afraid to take a chance on him, even though he'd put together a promising pre-season.

Is Sam going to be the next Lawrence Taylor? No, but he could be a solid pick-up. Plus, the NFL has been PR-challenged lately on a number of fronts. It needs to have a positive light shined upon it.

If it were to emerge that the NFL shunned Sam because he's gay, it would've made Roger Goodell look even worse, especially after he took such a soft stance on domenstic violence at the outset of that issue hitting the headlines.

In the big picture, isn't this all about winning? If you watched the Cowboys defense last year, you'd understand why he landed in Dallas.