Some team at the combine asked a player if he is gay

[Hapless Bills Fan]

16 minutes ago, teef said:

you could, but to me it's an amazing waste of time and energy.  i'd try to use it as an opportunity to show how questions wouldn't rattle me.  i honestly wouldn't bat an eye at it.  that said, again, i would never ask someone that question in an interview.  

how much cocaine have i done?

 

I wouldn't rattle at it either, and I think that most guys who aren't poised on a "roid rage" hair trigger realize the purpose in an interview and do their best to let any provocation pass unphased.  Doesn't mean they won't respond inappropriately on social media or in press availability or on the field.  IOW I think it's relatively useless.

 

Things to consider about these sorts of "shock value/elicit reaction questions

1) Teams get 15 minutes to assess these guys at the combine.  Are those questions really the best use of your time to decide which players have the mental capability to be coached and respond as you like, and therefore should get more attention? 

2) If a guy is an unrelenting hot head you can probably find out and set him off better with something more directly job related.  Pick on a football skill that he's been criticized for and poke at him there.

2) It's a point that players have to deal with a sometimes hostile public or media, but don't you get a far more realistic idea of how guys handle that from their social media dealings with fans in college and their game film (are they guys who get into altercations on the field, either in practice or games, where this kind of trash talk is common)? 

3) Is it a "deal breaker" for you if their PR skills off the aren't up to par? Or is it something you can coach up and teach?

4) Meanwhile, that sort of question gets around and just might affect the team's attractiveness to UDFA and so forth - if I had a chance to go to Team W where my bro had a good interview or Team A where my bro got asked if his momma's a hooker, I take Team W.  So it has a serious downside for the asker.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Hapless Bills Fan

[FrankoElTanko]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel said:

These are the same lines of questions our own police force uses as a way to see how you react out in the field. The psychological exam for State Trooper would ask you far worse questions than these.

Yea... except they're not future cops in the field... they are 20-24yo who are interviewing for a job as an athlete, how are those similar? 

Edited March 8, 2018 by FrankoElTanko

[apuszczalowski]

16 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

 

16 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

Are you interviewing for a position that requires you to answer questions that are unscripted while representing the company on a regular basis?

You know those sports journalists from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, always asking if your moms a whore or if your fantasizing about your teammates in the shower.....

 

Unless it's part of some story being written about your personal life or past, I can't recall athletes being asked questions outside of things happening on the field or sport related.

Edited March 8, 2018 by apuszczalowski

[BuffaloHokie13]

Just now, apuszczalowski said:

You know those sports journalists from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, always asking if your moms a whore or if your fantasizing about your teammates in the shower.....

 

Unless it's part of some story being written about your personal life or past, I can't recall athletes being asked questions outside of things happening on the field or sport related.

Do you really need me to link you all of the Media 'Professionals' who have been fired for sexual misconduct and inappropriate comments?

[teef]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Here's the thing.  

1) Teams got 15 minutes to assess these guys at the combine.  Are those questions really the best use of your time to decide which players have the mental capability to be coached and respond as you like?  I think anyone who answers "yes" needs their football priorities revisited.  If a guy is an unrelenting hot head you can probably set him off better with something more subtle and directly job related.  Pick on a football skill that he's been criticized for and poke at him.

2) Yes, it's a point that players have to deal with a sometimes hostile public or media, but you get a far more realistic idea of how guys handle that from their social media dealings with fans in college and their game film (are they guys who get into altercations on the field, either in practice or games, where this kind of trash talk is common)? 

3) Is it a "deal breaker" for you if their PR skills off the aren't up to par or is it something you can coach up and teach?

4) Meanwhile, that sort of question gets around and just might affect the team's attractiveness to UDFA and so forth - if I had a chance to go to Team W where my bro had a good interview or Team A where my bro got asked if his momma's a hooker, I take Team W.  So it has a serious downside for the asker.

this is good.  all points are very valid.  i think the question is completely absurd.  i mean, if i wanted to rattle someone at a combine interview, why not play a series of film and bombard them with difficult questions.  why a team would do it, i don't know.  it just wouldn't outrage me on a personal level.

[FrankoElTanko]

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

It comes up every year and is way out of line. I would walk out of that interview. That has nothing to do with anything.

Exactly this. I do not understand the argument that, "they should have thicker skin, they should be tougher, they will get it worse as a pro etc."? If it is offensive and it is illegal/out of line (still discrimination, Title VII, Civil Rights Act (1964)) then don't do it. I am no psychologist but if the point of asking these asinine questions it to see reactions, etc. then why not just change the question to something within the rules... Silly non-argument, if you are being interviewed (as D. Guice), then I would imagine that there are 31 other teams who would likely just avoid that type of situation all together that you could justifiably give the finger to the team asking you such nonsense. 

[PaattMaann]

I appreciate everyone's respectful and honest discussion. 

 

I believe these types of questions have a place in these types of interviews because it is a useful tool to gauge players temperaments in a job where millions of dollars are at stake, players are constantly hounded by the media regarding sensitive subjects, players personal lives can result in suspensions that harm their employer, players are subject to fans taunting them at games and in public....none of us work in such a volatile business where millions of dollars are at stake based on someones simple reaction or overreaction so our personal experiences are of no relevance. It is NOT the actual answer to the question that matters to the interviewers, it is the reaction of the interviewee and how they conduct themselves...which IS very relevant to their profession (not playing the sport, but dealing with their public lives, which DOES very much matter in today's NFL)

 

I also appreciate why some of you would disagree and think these questions are out of line. 

 

I will simply bow out of this discussion because, like politics or religions, no one will ever change each others minds and I have no interest in just arguing. Go Bills! 

Edited March 8, 2018 by PaattMaann

[FrankoElTanko]

13 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Here's the thing.  

1) Teams got 15 minutes to assess these guys at the combine.  Are those questions really the best use of your time to decide which players have the mental capability to be coached and respond as you like?  I think anyone who answers "yes" needs their football priorities revisited.  If a guy is an unrelenting hot head you can probably set him off better with something more subtle and directly job related.  Pick on a football skill that he's been criticized for and poke at him.

2) Yes, it's a point that players have to deal with a sometimes hostile public or media, but you get a far more realistic idea of how guys handle that from their social media dealings with fans in college and their game film (are they guys who get into altercations on the field, either in practice or games, where this kind of trash talk is common)? 

3) Is it a "deal breaker" for you if their PR skills off the aren't up to par or is it something you can coach up and teach?

4) Meanwhile, that sort of question gets around and just might affect the team's attractiveness to UDFA and so forth - if I had a chance to go to Team W where my bro had a good interview or Team A where my bro got asked if his momma's a hooker, I take Team W.  So it has a serious downside for the asker.

^ 100%

[LB3]

The team could gave gotten their answer by just subtly asking Guice if he likes fish sticks.

[HiddenInLight]

1 minute ago, LBSeeBallLBGetBall said:

The team could gave gotten their answer by just subtly asking Guice if he likes fish sticks.

[FrankoElTanko]

7 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

I appreciate everyone's respectful and honest discussion. 

 

I believe these types of questions have a place in these types of interviews because it is a useful tool to gauge players temperaments in a job where millions of dollars are at stake, players are constantly hounded by the media regarding sensitive subjects, players personal lives can result in suspensions that harm their employer, players are subject to fans taunting them at games and in public....none of us work in such a volatile business where millions of dollars are at stake based on someones simple reaction or overreaction so our personal experiences are of no relevance. It is NOT the actual answer to the question that matters to the interviewers, it is the reaction of the interviewee and how they conduct themselves...which IS very relevant to their profession (not playing the sport, but dealing with their public lives, which DOES very much matter in today's NFL)

 

I also appreciate why some of you would disagree and think these questions are out of line. 

 

I will simply bow out of this discussion because, like politics or religions, no one will ever change each others minds and I have no interest in just arguing. Go Bills! 

I appreciate your honest input so here is my chance at an explanation.

 

There are a TON of things that my employer would like to know about me the same way that there are things I want to know about him/her. However, there are things he/she has no business knowing about me because they are unrelated to my performance, at work (whether on the clock or representing myself as an ambassador of that company). Those things are protected legally by the Civil Rights Act, Title VII (1964). It is not necessarily that I would care to tell my employer that I may be married to man or a woman or that my mother may have sold dope, herself or whatever else SHE may have done to survive. These rules and laws exist exist are to safeguard interviewees and potential employees against EVERYONE ELSE's perception of these personal matters.

 

Traditionally, as you already said, ""none of us work in a such a volatile business where millions of dollars are at stake based on someones simple reaction...". You may be right however, because this is such a rare scenario (essentially interviewing for a multi-million dollar salaries as 20yo) that is even more of a reason to have that protection. YOU are the one with everything to risk by answering intimate questions. Say the interviewer asks you if you were gay? You responded, "yes". Now although nothing has changed for you (not that anything could by you responding yes or no, YOU are still being interviewed for the 'job'), you know that your responses will be taken back to that respective team's ENTIRE front office and ALL of your responses will be scrutinized and taken highly into consideration come draft day. 

 

Now you and I both know that it is not only ONE person who makes the decision to draft/sign/resign a player, it takes an organization. With that being said, the odds are simply higher that someone may have a problem with you admitting something (potentially) controversial during this line of questioning (regardless of whether or not they were ONLY asked to gauge their reaction, like you said). So now on draft day as an athlete (maybe gay, maybe not?) I have to wonder if there MAY be someone in the organization who does not want to select me or even worse wants to select me because they need me but they may have a problem with my sexual orientation? I know that me answering those questions when they asked it would not change my love for football or my commitment, only leave me to wonder why it would even matter to an NFL front office?

 

Who knows? 

 

Maybe they ask those questions and they see what type of reaction I have and that is what it is, just questioning. I go on and have a Hall of Fame career and nobody is ever offended. Maybe? Maybe just avoid the entire thing and not ask? A team worth billions could likely find some alternative, equally effective form of LEGAL questioning to screen future employers... Again, if not, the athlete is being interviewed, screw that job, try another one (there are 31 others out there) you literally know exactly what you are worth coming out (depending on which round).

[VaMilBill]

It's kinda amazing that stuff like this gets asked. I understand that in the NFL they basically own the player so they really want to test the person, but I feel like there are other stress tests you can put on a person to get under their skin that is professional in nature.

 

If I were a player I'd like to walk out of the interview right on the spot but obviously that could destroy them. I hope the player in question just responded, "Lets keep it professional.'

 

Hopefully this wasn't a Bills coach that asked this dumb question.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

4 minutes ago, VaMilBill said:

It's kinda amazing that stuff like this gets asked. I understand that in the NFL they basically own the player so they really want to test the person, but I feel like there are other stress tests you can put on a person to get under their skin that is professional in nature.

 

If I were a player I'd like to walk out of the interview right on the spot but obviously that could destroy them. I hope the player in question just responded, "Lets keep it professional.'

 

Hopefully this wasn't a Bills coach that asked this dumb question.

 

I would be concerned it’s very possible if Rex was still the coach, but I don’t see this coming from the new guys. 

[Direhard Fan]

Really.  The scouting department should know this upfront and the question doesn't need to be asked.  Just a dumb guy asking a dumb question.  Get over it.

[whatdrought]

26 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

 

I would be concerned it’s very possible if Rex was still the coach, but I don’t see this coming from the new guys. 

 

Nah, Rex sticks to boiler plate questions about toe shape and foot size. 

[DrDawkinstein]

Teams dont care if the player is gay, and they already know their orientation well before the interview.

 

They only ask it to see how the player reacts to give them some indication of how he is going to handle himself when taunted.

 

That said, it is technically illegal for an employer to ask that, regardless of what they are trying to accomplish. But this is the world of the NFL we're talking about.

 

As long as they arent discriminating based on the player's orientation, I dont have a big problem with it.

7 minutes ago, Direhard Fan said:

Really.  The scouting department should know this upfront and the question doesn't need to be asked.  Just a dumb guy asking a dumb question.  Get over it.

 

They do know. They just want to see how the player will react. Will he get incredulous? If so, not a good sign for when he's rich and famous and someone in the club throws some shade his way.

1 hour ago, apuszczalowski said:

You know those sports journalists from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, always asking if your moms a whore or if your fantasizing about your teammates in the shower.....

 

Unless it's part of some story being written about your personal life or past, I can't recall athletes being asked questions outside of things happening on the field or sport related.

 

It's not about how they answer in interviews. It's about how they are going to react in everyday life, or out with their friends. Can they be baited into an altercation?

[Cripple Creek]

3 hours ago, PaattMaann said:

 

are people that dense that they dont understand why these questions are asked?

 

TO GAUGE THEIR REACTION, DO THEY FREAK OUT ON THE ASKER? DO THEY KEEP THEIR COMPOSITION WHEN PRESSED ON A SENSITIVE SUBJECT? 

 

Jesus people, really? 

So you’re saying that state agencies are breaking federal law? Is a waiver signed beforehand?

[DefenseWins]

3 hours ago, PaattMaann said:

 

are people that dense that they dont understand why these questions are asked?

 

TO GAUGE THEIR REACTION, DO THEY FREAK OUT ON THE ASKER? DO THEY KEEP THEIR COMPOSITION WHEN PRESSED ON A SENSITIVE SUBJECT? 

 

Jesus people, really? 

 

Boy, I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall if/when someone asked Ray Lewis this kind of question....

 

Or Bruce Smith for that matter....

 

 

Edited March 8, 2018 by DefenseWins

[Domdab99]

It's just so unnecessary and stupid to ask questions like this. Hope the team gets fined or loses a draft pick.

 

And to the idiot saying it's to gauge how they react, let's see you do that in any other kind of job interview and see what happens. You'd get sued. It's LITERALLY against the law to ask this kind of question. 

Edited March 8, 2018 by Domdab99

[Fadingpain]

3 hours ago, Chicken Boo said:

Doesn't this happen every year?

 

Phillip Rivers, who was drafted 14 years ago, said that teams intentionally try to get under your skin to see how you react to "adversity".

 

They inquired about Guice's mom hooking, ffs.

These football guys are such meatheads.

 

It would be helpful if they just tried to have a normal conversation and see if the player's IQ is shockingly low, low, or surprisingly slightly below average.

 

That's useful info.