INDIANAPOLIS — This could be as good a time as there has ever been for an openly gay player in the NFL. The league will be watching. In the wake of the bullying scandal in Miami, executives from teams around the league who gathered for the annual scouting combine spoke Thursday about being on guard to ensure their locker rooms are respectful and tolerant — especially with Michael Sam, expected to soon become the first publicly revealed homosexual in the NFL. Predictably, general managers and coaches said a culture of respect was already in place with their clubs before Richie Incognito, the Dolphins offensive lineman who led the extreme hazing detailed last week in an NFL-ordered report, became an infamous name. But while there haven't been many major signs of response to the scandal, some tangible signs of change have at least emerged.