NEW YORK—Saying that they’ll have to rely on nearly every trick they’ve learned, NFL camera operators told reporters Friday they are already preparing for a difficult year of avoiding fans who hold up derogatory signs directed at openly gay defensive end Michael Sam. “It’s safe to say that cutting to opposing fans after Sam makes a big play will always be out of the question,” said cameraman Joseph Heizer, adding that when they are obligated to pan the crowd, they’ll need to be ready to quickly jerk away from inflammatory signs and land on something safe like the referees, coaching staff, or turf. “We’re also going to stick with a lot of zoomed-out, low-focus shots of the stands so that the poster boards with homophobic slurs just look like colorful squares. And any time we do zoom in on screaming fans, we’ll just have to shake the camera a little bit so you can’t tell what they’re actually shouting.” The cameramen added that they are also proposing a 15-second delay for all games taking place in the South.

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