Jeff Fisher rips report Rams drafted Michael Sam to avoid 'Hard Knocks'
There's a report the Rams drafted Michael Sam to get out of 'Hard Knocks.' Jeff Fisher is denying it.
The NFL is full of back-room dealings. But a reported deal between the Rams and the NFL relating to the 2013 NFL Draft selection of Michael Sam is a bit of a stomach-churner.
Howard Balzer of 590 the Fan in St. Louis reported Thursday morning that the Rams and the league entered into a deal where the Rams would agree to draft Sam in exchange for not being forced to appear on Hard Knocks for the 2013 season.
Here's the basic premise of the story: the draft was heading into the third day and Sam, the first openly gay player in NFL history and the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, was looking like he might not get drafted. The NFL, according to Balzer, was worried about how it would look.
The Rams, one of eight teams the NFL could compel to appear on the HBO show, did not appear on the show. According to Balzer it's because they agreed to draft Sam, taking him in the seventh round of the draft.
For his part, Sam was "not surprised" by the story.
I'm not surprised at all https://t.co/wGnyFpuIVP
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) March 23, 2016
Rams coach Jeff Fisher was though! Appearing on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike (via Pro Football Talk), Fisher called it "absolutely absurd" and "100 percent incorrect."
“That in itself is absolutely absurd, it’s 100 percent incorrect,” Fisher said. “I was really taken aback by those comments. It’s insulting, from my standpoint, as it relates to Michael. We had three seventh-round picks. When we drafted Michael he was the best player on the board. Who in their right mind would think that you give up a draft choice to avoid doing something like that?”
Fisher added the report is "unfair" to Sam.
The Rams were selected as the team to appear on the long-running HBO series about training camp at the 2016 NFL owners' meetings.
In a release from HBO, Fisher lauded the move.
"This is an exciting time for our franchise,” Fisher said. “'Hard Knocks' will be an outstanding way to bring our fans into our training camp and preseason, and give a glimpse of the hard work and dedication of our players, coaches and staff as we prepare for the 2016 season.”
