GTSalute Michael Sam, a defensive lineman from the University of Missouri, reveals he is gay. If he makes an NFL team as expected, he will become the first openly gay football player in the history of the NFL. It's steps like this that help change attitudes in the long run.
We know that homosexuals make up somewhere around 5% of the population, give or take. But there are certain segments of the population where it seems to be more taboo to come out as such than others.
Take sports, for example. It is rare that we hear about gay athletes in football, baseball or basketball, the three major sports in the U.S.
Is it because homosexuals, because of genetics or physiological reasons, are not destined to reach the highest level of competition in those sports?
Or is it because so few of them ever come out as gay?
There have been literally thousands upon thousands of NBA, NFL and MLB players over the years, and it is rare that we hear of any them being gay. NBA player Jason Collins came out last year and became the first openly gay athlete playing in an American team sport. The question of how many homosexuals have participated in these sports over the years remains unanswered, because it is assumed that of those athletes who were gay, the overwhelming majority of them never came out as such during their careers.
So you can understand why it is HUGE news that Michael Sam, an All-American defensive lineman from the University of Missouri and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, said that he is gay in an interview with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” on Sunday. Assuming that he is drafted and makes an NFL team, he will become the first openly gay football player in the history of the NFL.
“I understand how big this is,” Sam said. “It’s a big deal. No one has done this before. And it’s kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be … I want to be a football player in the NFL.”
He came out last year to his Missouri teammates, and as he put it, they were already aware that he was gay.
“Coaches just wanted to know a little about ourselves, our majors, where we’re from, and something that no one knows about you,” Sam said. “And I used that opportunity just to tell them that I was gay. And their reaction was like, ‘Michael Sam finally told us.’ ”
About the day he came out to his Mizzou teammates, Sam said, “I was
kind of scared, even though they already knew. Just to see their
reaction was awesome. They supported me from Day One. I couldn’t have
better teammates. … I’m telling you what: I wouldn’t have the strength
to do this today if I didn’t know how much support they’d given me this
past semester.”
According to NFL Draft Scout, Sam is expected to be a third or fourth round draft choice in the NFL draft this coming May.
On Sunday night, the NFL released a statement supporting Sam.
“We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage,” NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello said in the statement. “Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL. We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”
This will truly be an interesting story to follow. Will his admission affect his draft position? What will be the reaction if he does not make the team that drafts him? Will there be issues with teammates who have no experience with being around openly gay athletes? Or with those who have negative stereotypes about gays, such as that they are predators, as Sam brought up during his interview?
On the flip side, if Sam has a successful NFL career, it could lead to other gay athletes coming out of the closet themselves, which would hopefully lead to a greater acceptance of them in our still-evolving society.
Watch Sam’s coming out interview below from ESPN.
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