On February 9th, Michael Sam, 24, a defensive lineman for the Missouri Tigers, publicly came out as being homosexual. Sam, who has a hot prospect for a career in the NFL, would be the first active openly gay player in NFL history.
The Tigers has recently finished a 12-2 season, one where Sam and the Tigers would go on to win the Cotton Bowl; Sam was named their team’s MVP. This has led to much speculation that he would be scooped up in the upcoming NFL draft, following his graduation later this year. Many consider him to be an obvious choice for an early draft pick, specifically in the 3rd round.
Sam had told several friends of his orientation one year ago, but it wasn’t until August that the rest of the team was told, shortly before the beginning of the season. Sam states that his teammates were fine with his orientation, and that he received their full support; one player accompanied him to a gay pride parade and others went to gay bars with him. Surprisingly, the information didn’t publicly leak until now, well after the end of the season.
Controversy has aroused in the NFL due to this news. According to a recent statistic published by ESPN, a sample from 51 players states that 86% of them stated that a teammates sexual orientation does not matter to them, but there have been several outspoken critics, such as Jonathan Vilma, a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints. Additionally, some have reported on homophobic practice in the NFL, such as scouting agents asking if players had girlfriends or were seen around women, and punter Chris Kluwe said that his support of same-sex marriage lost him his job with the Minnesota Vikings.
Sam did not have an easy time growing up. At points, he was living in his mother’s car, or staying at friends houses in exchange for doing chores around the house. He is also the first person is his family to go to college. Among his siblings, two brothers are in jail, and three of his other siblings have passed away.
Despite all the talk about his sexuality, Sam is more focused on his upcoming tryouts. Due to his comparatively small stature amongst other linebackers, standing at only 6’3, he lose his status as defensive end and instead became an outside linebacker.
“I’m not naïve,” Mr. Sam said. “I know this is a huge deal and I know how important this is. But my role as of right now is to train for the combine and play in the N.F.L.”