Tim Tebow, Michael Sam, Arian Foster and David Denison Walk Into a Bar...

Q. What do Tim Tebow, Michale Sam, Arian Foster and David Denson have in common?

Tebow is the over-enthusiastically Christian quarterback attempting to crack the Eagles' roster as the third starter this off-season. Sam is the openly gay defensive lineman picked in the seventh-round who couldn't stick in the NFL or the CFL.  Foster is the Houston Texans' avowedly atheist star running back. And Denson is a first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers' Rookie League affiliate in Helena, Montana who last week announced his homosexuality.

What you'll notice immediately about three of these is that they've run out of talent just before the majors. Tebow's NFL career is likely to end this pre-season. Sam is already done. And Denson is, at 20 years of age in rookie ball, roster-filler. Only Foster, who has gained 1,200+ yards-a-season in four of his six years in the league, has spent any significant time drawing a check from a pro sports franchise.

On the surface, of course, each of them has presented a highly controversial persona to the public, either by exiting the closet or proclaiming his religious beliefs publicly. In each case, the athlete has taken a road less traveled and likely more difficult. There are plenty more of each of them, for sure.

But what they really have in common is this:

A. In the brutal meritocracy that is professional sports, ultimately, no one cares about what you are. They care about what you produce. Tebow, Sam, Foster and Denson all will be, and largely have been, measured by their performances on the field. Your religious affiliation and your sexual orientation (not to mention your race and national origin) ultimately make no difference.

And that's as it should be. Bless them all.

But we're not quite there. When Jackie Robinson entered baseball, that was earth shattering. When Larry Doby broke the AL color line it was less dramatic. By the time Willie Mays joined the Giants four years later, fans were more focused on his talent than on his skin color. Two decades later, even the end of the bench was integrated, demonstrating that race wasn't even a tie-breaker.

Likewise, Frank Robinson's rise to manager was ground-breaking, but his firing was more significant. Today, managers of all races come and go.

So it's wonderful that Tebow, Sam & Denison, and Foster can reveal their true selves and be accepted. But we will have really achieved something when there isn't any reason for, or interest in, the proclamation.