Michael Sam becomes the first openly gay NFL player as hes drafted by the Rams

Publish date: 0001-01-01

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University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam has become the first openly gay man in the NFL!! Sam came out in February, in a moving and refreshingly open and honest interview with ESPN. There was a lot of talk then and now about whether the NFL was ready for an openly gay player, and the NFL Draft was already six rounds down before anyone came for Sam. At the end of the day, the St. Louis Rams were the brave ones who decided to hire Sam:

Cheers to Michael Sam! The St. Louis Rams drafted the football player on Saturday, May 10, officially making him the first openly gay player in NFL history.

“Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis,” the 24-year-old tweeted shortly after news broke. “I’m using every ounce [sic] of this to achieve greatness!!”

Sam was the 249th pick on the final day of the NFL draft. Last February, the Missouri All-American defensive lineman came out as gay during an interview with ESPN.

“I am an openly, proud gay man,” he 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.”

Earlier this week, Sam told Robin Roberts on Good Morning America that he was ready for any team willing to give him a chance. “Where I go, it doesn’t matter,” he said on May 7. “As long as I get to play and I put a jersey on my back, it’s just awesome. I’m going to be proud of wherever I go.”

Getting drafted is just the first of many accomplishments for Sam. Up next, the athlete will be receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards in July.

[From Us Weekly]

I’m so happy for him! I love that he’s receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award as well – he’s so deserving. What was also very interesting to me is that Michael is making it clear from Day One that he’s not going to go back in the closet for the NFL – he allwed ESPN to film him as he was drafted, and his boyfriend was at his side the entire time. They were holding hands, and they kissed twice on camera. Just after he was drafted, he retweeted a lovely photo of he and his boyfriend kissing. His boyfriend, Vito, has lots of coupled-up photos on his Twitter too (I’m including some of the photos below). Pres. Obama also sent his congratulations via a statement:

The President congratulates Michael Sam, the Rams and the NFL for taking an important step forward today in our Nation’s journey. From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are.

[From Towleroad]

Unfortunately, there’s already one wrinkle – after Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend live on camera, a Miami Dophin named Don Jones tweeted out “OMG” and “horrible”. The Dolphins’ GM issued a statement about Jones’ tweets right away, so at least that’s something.

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Photos courtesy of Twitter, Getty.

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