My-King Johnson

[Chicat]

[Merkin]

Just came here to post that too, well done My-King! A very brave young man.

Still remember when David Kopay came out in 1975 in the NFL.

Still not very good progress since then.

[azgreg]

Didn't Michael Sam come out while he was in college?

[SirClinks]

Didn't Michael Sam come out while he was in college?

He was certainly out to his teammates and coaches but maybe not to the general public? Im not really sure.

[whatisee]

Didn't Michael Sam come out while he was in college?

I think it was right before the draft officially, but not 100%

edit:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/micha ... nfl-draft/" target="_blank

[Main Event]

Good for him

[ASUHATER!]

Didn't Michael Sam come out while he was in college?

Not publicly. He did a few months after his season ended.


But great news about My-King.

[Chicat]

Takes a whole heaping helping of bravery to be this upfront and honest prior to even stepping foot on campus. I've got a ton of respect for this young man.

That being said, I look forward to the day when this is so normal that no one would think to write a story on it or a kid would think he needs to go public. My-King just took us in a big step in that direction.

[Alieberman]

Totally agree Chi

I know nothing about him... is he expected to actually play anytime soon?

[Chicat]

He might be our most talented member of the d-line the moment he suits up.

[JMarkJohns]

Woah! Just saw this on Twitter. This all the My-King threads were just player profiles or, Hell, even a decommit.

Incredible courage and self assuredness to begin a college career with this spotlight. I look forward to cheering on his progress as a player and person.

[ghostwhitehorse]

Saw this over on The Root. . . damn this is out of the blue. http://www.theroot.com/17-year-old-my-k ... 1792761349" target="_blank

Known to his friends and family as “King,” 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive end starred at Tempe High School. ESPN reports that he signed with the home-state Wildcats after verbally committing to Pac-12 Conference rival UCLA.

Johnson reportedly told Arizona defensive line coach that he was gay during the recruiting process. Johnson said Vincent Amey replied that “we want you to be a Wildcat.”

“When I found out, I really couldn’t sleep,” coach Vincent Amey told the Daily Star. “And it wasn’t like I was uncomfortable with it. I was just like, all right, it’s different, it’s new. ... I said, ‘Look, you are who you are, I am who I am, and I’m going to coach you the same way. I’m going to treat you the same way. I’m going to get on you the same way as everybody else. There’s no difference. You do what you do.’

Amey also said that stressed that all his players should give King their support.

“I said, ‘When the players find out, especially my room, I’m going to tell [those] dudes: Look, you gotta have his back.’”

[Merkin]

ESPN:

[ghostwhitehorse]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

[ASUHATER!]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

[whatisee]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

It will be interesting to see the road they take with the politically correct atmosphere going on these days.

[ASUHATER!]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

It will be interesting to see the road they take with the politically correct atmosphere going on these days.

What? You mean the politically incorrect atmosphere right? With Trump winning, people are taking it as a sign that it is OK to be an asshole.

[whatisee]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

It will be interesting to see the road they take with the politically correct atmosphere going on these days.

What? You mean the politically incorrect atmosphere right? With Trump winning, people are taking it as a sign that it is OK to be an asshole.

I don't follow that mantra at all, and i wasn't talking about Trump. Please lease those politics at the door. I believe you understood my statement clearly enough.

[ASUHATER!]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

It will be interesting to see the road they take with the politically correct atmosphere going on these days.

What? You mean the politically incorrect atmosphere right? With Trump winning, people are taking it as a sign that it is OK to be an asshole.

I don't follow that mantra at all, and i wasn't talking about Trump. Please lease those politics at the door. I believe you understood my statement clearly enough.

No thank you. I'm fine taking my politics wherever I please.

[ghostwhitehorse]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

Only ASU board that has a thread on My-King is the rivals one. . .and it's premium so. . . content unknown.

[PHXCATS]

Leave the politics stuff out of here.

My thoughts on this. Really hope this comes off right, sorry if it doesn't.

Good for him to be comfortable with everything.

Is this why UCLA cooled off?

Just play your best and represent yourself and U of A well.

Good for the coaching staff not to back off when they found out and should be good press for U of A. (And I don't think anyone is doing it on purpose)

Hope no fans say anything negative about it beau se there isn't anything negative about it but fans are idiots.

Hope that no one blames this if he doesn't perform well on the field and gets benched for a better player, although he should be a good contributor.

[Merkin]

Very few true freshmen make an impact in the trenches. Need the redshirt year to bulk up and learn the schemes. Very few true freshmen make an impact anywhere. Maybe RB, with Tilford getting a bunch of carries due to Wilson and Johnson getting limited reps being so fragile.

[Harvey Specter]

Takes a whole heaping helping of bravery to be this upfront and honest prior to even stepping foot on campus. I've got a ton of respect for this young man.

That being said, I look forward to the day when this is so normal that no one would think to write a story on it or a kid would think he needs to go public. My-King just took us in a big step in that direction.

^^^ All of this. I really could not care less what his sexual preferences are, I hope he is a good FB player - cuz God knows we need him to be.

That said, unfortunately it takes some cajones to come forward with this, Still. I wish the kid much success.

Hopefully someday no one will care and this would not be news.

[Harvey Specter]

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

It will be interesting to see the road they take with the politically correct atmosphere going on these days.

What? You mean the politically incorrect atmosphere right? With Trump winning, people are taking it as a sign that it is OK to be an asshole.

I don't follow that mantra at all, and i wasn't talking about Trump. Please lease those politics at the door. I believe you understood my statement clearly enough.

No thank you. I'm fine taking my politics wherever I please.

1. Let's not kid ourselves about our fanbase vs everyone else's... if he went to ASU - we have plenty of fans who would embarrass themselves. Just like they will.

2. Trump is an asshole... and regardless of his politics - Hater is too. He did not need Trump to be elected to jizz his pious righteousness all over these forums. But if it makes you feel superior kid - keep it up.

[Harvey Specter]

*eyeballs ASU boards warily*

You know they'll come up with some awful stuff up in Tempe this year to heckle him.

Only ASU board that has a thread on My-King is the rivals one. . .and it's premium so. . . content unknown.

And that is because there are dicks at ASU like everywhere else and they are our rivals.

Think ASU would be talking about him if he went to CU?

[Scummy Dick Douglas]

ASU fans on premium boards are 100% supportive of My-King Johnson. I think many of you have forgotten that ASU has recent experience with this topic: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc ... /14022677/

[MrMeow]

Takes a whole heaping helping of bravery to be this upfront and honest prior to even stepping foot on campus. I've got a ton of respect for this young man.

That being said, I look forward to the day when this is so normal that no one would think to write a story on it or a kid would think he needs to go public. My-King just took us in a big step in that direction.

^^^ All of this. I really could not care less what his sexual preferences are, I hope he is a good FB player - cuz God knows we need him to be.

That said, unfortunately it takes some cajones to come forward with this, Still. I wish the kid much success.

Hopefully someday no one will care and this would not be news.

cajones? It takes some boxes?

[Chicat]

ASU fans on premium boards are 100% supportive of My-King Johnson.

I would imagine so. No one wants to be "that fanbase".

[ASUHATER!]

ASU fans on premium boards are 100% supportive of My-King Johnson. I think many of you have forgotten that ASU has recent experience with this topic: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc ... /14022677/

In person though at the game, I expect the usual from ASU fans.

[Sid]

Good for this kid. Speaks to the character of this young man too! I look forward to watching his progress and hope he makes huge strides and is rewarded with playing time sooner rather than later.

BTFD

[UALoco]

The kid "came out" when he was 12. Damn...that is impressive.

I don't see kids these days making as much of a deal about it..I worry more about the media who will hammer away at this story.

Let's focus on the x's and o's please.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Very few true freshmen make an impact in the trenches. Need the redshirt year to bulk up and learn the schemes. Very few true freshmen make an impact anywhere. Maybe RB, with Tilford getting a bunch of carries due to Wilson and Johnson getting limited reps being so fragile.

I hope he's ready sooner. We need D Line desperately.

I'm glad he's able to live his life openly and happily. Everyone should have that. It's a little stunning that this is only happening in 2017. That said, I'm sure he's ready to focus on football. I hope he is, because we really need help on D.

[BearDown89]

The kid "came out" when he was 12. Damn...that is impressive.

I don't see kids these days making as much of a deal about it..I worry more about the media who will hammer away at this story.

Let's focus on the x's and o's please.

Agree on all points. My kids' generation could care less; it's normal life as it should be.

Curious if the local Tucson media lets it lie after a few initial stories, and whether the national media gets wind and makes anything of it (i.e., it's Arizona football so they're not likely to care in the first place). Would hate for it to be a stupid media-driven distraction. I suppose if he and the team have mutual success down the road it's bound to come up.

[Merkin]