Columbia, Mo. – Michael Sam, 24, made sports history over the Feb. 8 weekend as he became the first Division I College football player to publicly say he is gay.
The University of Missouri player Sam has made the public announcement months before this season’s NFL draft in May, where he is predicted to be chosen in one of the early- to mid-rounds. He was named 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year during his senior year and also helped Missouri finish with a 12-2 season and Cotton Bowl win.
“Michael Sam has made history with his courageous decision to come out at the beginning of his professional career,” said Chad Griffin, Human Rights Campaign president. “But even more importantly, he’s provided essential hope to millions of LGBT young people from the South, across the country and around the world…”
Sam came out to his teammates last year during a preseason football practice team-building exercise. Each player was asked to talk about themselves, why they chose Missouri and other things the other players might not know about them. It was then defensive lineman Sam made the statement: “I’m gay.”
Sam is one of a handful of athletes, such as basketball players Jason Collins and Brittney Griner, who are starting to come out and allowing forward movement in the gay rights movement within sports culture, which has attracted attention in the recent years over its controversy and issues with athletes and homophobia.
The NFL also released a statement a day after Sam’s announcement, saying:
“We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL,” the statement reads. “We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”
One of Sam’s concerns was coming out before the 2014 Draft, where he thought to question the impact his announcement could have on his prospects. But even despite this, Sam was voted Missouri’s most valuable player by his teammates, many of which suspected him of being gay before he came out to them.
And through all this, all his teammates will say he is one of the team’s most popular players – on and off the field, gay or not.
