donte stallworth joins us tonight here on "the ed show." your time. >> thanks for having me on, ed. >> why are people raising the question about handling the media coverage of drafting sam as a player? >> well, you know, in the nfl, there is always people are always trying to stay away from, quote/unquote, distractions. but i've been on teams before that have had major possibilities and the potential to destroy a whole season. early on in 2007 when i played for the new england patriots, we had the whole spygate thing. we had -- we were shooting for 16-0, and those weren't distractions. yes, we discussed it in the locker room, and we talked about it amongst each other. we maybe even talked about it a little more than bill liked us to at the time. but we kept it all in-house, and everything was fine. there were no distractions. and, you know, that's the same thing that other organizations should be able to do too. distractions are what you make them to be out, what you make them out to be. and there should be no reason for that to be a distra

joining me now is donte stallworth.tly playing for the washington redskins. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me on, reverend. >> you've been tweeting about michael sam. you said you wish him the best of luck, and you wrote, "if any nfl team can't handle the media coverage of drafrting sam, then your team is already a loser on the field. let me tell you why." well, donte, tell us why. >> well, first of all i want to say congratulations to michael sam. and entering the league of national football league he is going to be welcomed with open arms and get a lot of support, more than he knows. first of all, i wanted to say that there is a multitude of things that can happen during an nfl season, situations that can arise that you have no control over and you have no idea when they're going to come. so if a team is not ready for those type of situations to handle that when it's unexpected, how are you not going to be able to see something from afar as far as michael sam's situation is concerned? he is a great pla

and i think former nfl player, dontÉ stallworth really did say it best.if having a game player say distraction on your team, you know what that means, it means that you have a loser of a team. because the entire nfl season is made up of distractions. >> michael sam said that he had told his teammates in missouri in august that he was game. and that they have been supportive. let's listen to that. >> hopefully players see that they don't judge me by -- because i am gay, they see this person works hard, can he win us games, can he win us a championship. i can. i can. it's a workplace, you want to act professional. >> and you know, in effect, chris, he played the whole season, his teammates had no problem supporting him. had no problem keeping his secret. until he was ready to come out and do this publicly. so if college players can do it, why can't nfl players deal with this? >> right, exactly. and that's the thing, if this is the kind of distraction that michael sam is going to be, well, any team should welcome that distraction. i mean, mizzou went 11-2 i

donte stallworth, i appreciate your time tonight. thank you so much for joining us. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >>> good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from washington, d.c. tonight's lead, an amazing day in the so-called loud music murder trial that has re-ignited the debate about stand your ground. seven months after george zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of trayvon martin, saying he was in fear of his life, florida's controversial stand your ground law, a law that you can use deadly force if you feel threatened, is back in the national spotlight. this case began one evening in november 2012 at a gas station in jacksonville, florida. michael dunn got into an argument about loud music with four teenagers sitting inside a parked suv. dunn fired ten shots at the vehicle. one of the teens, 17-year-old jordan davis, died at the scene. michael dunn is charged with first-degree murder. he says the killing was in self-defense and that the teen th

howard gragman and donte stallworth with the advocate group athlete ally plus the president of the heritageoundation, senator jim demint. >>> banks and marijuana dealers have the go ahead to do business together. it's big news where pot sales are available. jeff is in our washington bureau with more. good morning, jeff. >> good morning. this means marijuana sellers in states where the drug is legal will be able to open savings and checking accounts like any other business with a major caveat. the banks have to verify the sellers aren't breaking laws. the guidelines are to help reduce the risk of prosecution. it urges financial people to verify the business file reports and flag contacts with suspicious sellers. >> it is an attempt to deal with a reality that exists in these states. >> reporter: a justice department spokesman says it's intended to increase the availability of financial services for marijuana business that is are licensed and regulated, preserving law enforcement tools. currently washington and colorado are the only states in the nation where marijuana can be used recreationa

our next guest, former nfl wide receiver donte stallworth.lot of team and management may not want to deal with the distraction that comes with this, may affect the locker room. what do you say? >> i think first of all, i actually know he werim. he's a good guy. he was from his own point of view expressing from head coaches and general manager across the league. unfortunately for that type of thinking this is a new day and age. society is moving towards more acceptance of the lgtb community. i think michael sam will have an opportunity to be successful in the nfl. guys will rally around him. the opportunity we have to have michael sam in the nfl is to have a better understanding of what the lgbt community is all about. for me personally that's one of the things that actually moved me towards being more of an advocate and ally for the community the fact i had the opportunity to be around gays living here in miami. i was a little homophobic 10 to 15 years ago. i just -- once i started hanging out with a couple different people, i saw how ignoran