Before Carl Nassib, Michael Sam was the NFL’s first openly gay draft pick - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER, RETIR FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS
• CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NFL'S FIRST ACTIVE GAY PLAYER, MICHAEL SAM?
• MICHAEL SAM SAGA MIGHT KEEP OTHER GAY NFL HOPEFULS OM G OUT, FORMER EXEC SAYS
• NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 104-YEAR HISTORY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.

MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER, RETIR FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS

Michael Sam, who 2014 beme the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team, announced on Twter Friday eveng that he is walkg away om football for mental health reasons. After he failed to fd a al wh an NFL team, Sam signed wh the Montreal Alouett of the Canadian Football League, at which pot he beme the CFL's first openly gay player. 7, he beme the first openly gay player to play a regular season CFL game, though he did not register any tackl or sacks his appearanc.

Carl Nassib Is The First Active NFL Player To Come Out As Gay "I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay, " he said an Instagram vio.

Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib said on Monday that he would not have been able to publicly e out as gay whout the support of the NFL and his teammat.

CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY

" "I jt want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay, " Nassib said an Instagram vio he posted on his verified Instagram acunt. " Nassib is by no means the first gay football player the NFL, but he is the first openly gay active player the league to play the regular season. Michael Sam me out as gay followg his succsful llege reer and before the 2014 NFL draft, makg him the first publicly gay player to be drafted the NFL.

One such example clus David Kopay, who was a former NFL athlete back the 1970s who me out as gay. His story was credibly spirg to future generatns of gay football players who may have faced siar challeng on their way to stardom. One such athlete is Michael Sam, the NFL's first active gay football player.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NFL'S FIRST ACTIVE GAY PLAYER, MICHAEL SAM?

Given the lack of gay reprentatn the NFL overall and the still prent stigma surroundg diverse sexualy, this was huge for football. As stated by The Huffgton Post, 2013, Sam me out as gay to his ach and teammat, beg the NFL's first active gay football player.

Acrdg to the Advote, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn ed to list homosexualy as a mental illns.

MICHAEL SAM SAGA MIGHT KEEP OTHER GAY NFL HOPEFULS OM G OUT, FORMER EXEC SAYS

An unknown Rams player even lled Sam a homophobic slur.

He was also lled slurs by a teammate durg his time at the Universy of Missouri as well, though he was apologized to after beg angry and takg a stand agast the homophobic language. Reportedly, Sam is also pro football's first openly gay ach, markg another tremendo first for the athlete his reer.

The NFL still hasn’t field an openly gay player durg a regular-season game. 6 percent of Amerins as eher gay or lbian, ’s likely that closeted draft prospects or veteran players have crossed the NFL radar sce Sam ma his proclamatn three years ago. MORE: Openly gay athlet.

NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY

MORE: Michael Sam told he's "not gay enough" and "not black enough".

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 104-YEAR HISTORY

Sam later tried the Canadian Football League and beme s first openly gay player to appear a regular-season game, but he ultimately left the Montreal Alouett for personal reasons. -founr Cyd Zeigler sists the only reason Sam didn’t make a 53-man NFL roster is bee he is gay.

Banner said the Browns already “thought we knew” Sam was gay before his announcement was ma. Otherwise, we create a pattern of celebratg an athlete’s bravery while also cuttg their reer off at the exampl offer utnary Michael Sam told the world he was gay, he was drafted the seventh round 2014, the lowt pick of any SEC fensive player of the year. Dpe reachg out several tim, I haven’t spoken to my sports agent aga to this 2021, Carl beme the first NFL player on an active roster to e out as gay.

Back 2013, Michael Sam was a llege football sensatn who cid to e out as the only known gay profsnal football player at the time. It was Augt of 2013 durg a team meetg, that Sam cid to announce to his llege teammat that he was gay. The word of Sam's g out as a gay player soon ronated throughout sports general as he was the only active, openly gay player at the time.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

In the recent wake of Jon Gn's homophobic (among other thgs) rhetorics which were spewed a 2011 email that forced him to rign, was disvered that Gn ed the words "queer" and "faggot" to scribe Sam when the Rams drafted him back 2014 (for the rerd, Gn also scribed NFLPA executive director DeMrice Smh, who is Ain Amerin, as havg "lips the size of Michell [sic] tir. “The SEC -fensive player of the year om the Universy of Missouri would be first publicly gay active NFL player if drafted.

NFL prospect Michael Sam out as gay. Michael Sam, the Universy of Missouri fensive end who was the SEC’s -fensive player of the year 2013, has e out publicly as gay. If selected the May draft or if signed as a ee agent, he would bee the first publicly gay player NFL history.

“I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay.

BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.

If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay. I gus they don’t want to ask a 6-3, 260-pound fensive leman if he was gay or not. In g out now, Sam said he wanted him beg gay to be known to the fans and ont office of any team that drafted him.

It was only once he enrolled at Missouri that he fally realized he was gay.

While he said many people on the team knew or spected, he told them all he was gay durg a team bondg meetg Augt. He said that he even ocsnally took straight teammat to gay clubs, cludg at the recent Cotton Bowl Dallas, a sign of their embrace of him and the fun they had hangg out wh the gregar, outgog Sam.