First openly gay NFL player shar experienc sports, life // The Observer

Contents:

• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.
• MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM COULD BEE NFL'S 1ST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER, RETIR FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS
• MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE'S GAY
• MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE'S GAY
• MISSOURI FOOTBALL PLAYER MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE IS GAY, AIMS TO BE FIRST PUBLICLY GAY PLAYER NFL
• NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY
• MICHAEL SAM, STAR MISSOURI FENSIVE END, OUT AS GAY
• COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR MICHAEL SAM: 'I'M AN OPENLY, PROUD GAY MAN'
• MIZZOU NFL DRAFT PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM ANNOUNC HE'S GAY
• N.F.L. PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM PROUDLY SAYS WHAT TEAMMAT KNEW: HE’S GAY

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

Seven years before Las Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay on Monday, an all-Amerin om the Universy of Missouri risked a promisg reer wh a public claratn. “I am an openly proud gay man, ” Michael Sam, a 24-year-old fensive end, told ESPN and the New York Tim Febary announcement followed a surprisg 12-2 season for Missouri, which won the SEC East and then the Cotton Bowl as Sam was named the SEC fensive player of the year. On Tuday, Sam thanked Nassib for jog the ranks of LGBTQ football players, payg special tribute to the donatn Nassib ma to the Trevor Project, a nonprof foced on suici Vegas Rairs fensive end Carl Nassib announced June 21 on Instagram that he is gay, makg him the first active NFL player to e out.

MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM COULD BEE NFL'S 1ST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

The NFL particular had faced cricism for allegedly askg prospects about their sexual orientatn and had been acced of hamperg players who spoke out favor of gay many profsnal athlet around the world, cludg several retired NFL players, had e out by 2014, no one who was still playg football had dared to make that move before story rurfaced on Monday when the 28-year-old Nassib, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns 2016 and now plays for the Rairs, announced that he is gay a vio on Instagram. “Here’s the tth: Everyone ow Michael Sam such a b of gratu, ” Wa Davis, a former NFL rnerback who me out as gay 2012, told The Washgton Post on Monday.

He wasn’t the only gay man who stggled to fd a place the NFL after g retired NFL players have publicly intified as gay, begng wh Dave Kopay, who me out 1975, three years after leavg the sport. 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.

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

It was Augt of 2013 durg a team meetg, that Sam cid to announce to his llege teammat that he was gay.

MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE'S 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. 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.

MIZZOU'S MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE'S GAY

Missouri's All-Amerin fensive end me out to the entire untry Sunday night and uld bee the first openly gay player Ameri's most popular sport. "I jt want to go to the team who drafts me, " Sam told ESPN an terview that aired Sunday, "bee that team knows about me, knows that I'm gay, and also knows that I work hard.

In terviews wh ESPN, The New York Tim and Outsports, Sam said publicly for the first time that he was gay. Sam received much public support Sunday night om people throughout the world of sports, cludg Jason Colls, the NBA player who said publicly last season that he is gay. Garcia was teammat and good iends wh fensive leman Esera Tuaolo, who announced he was gay on HBO's Real Sports 2002 — three years after he left the NFL.

MISSOURI FOOTBALL PLAYER MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE IS GAY, AIMS TO BE FIRST PUBLICLY GAY PLAYER NFL

Garcia said although he and Tuaolo regularly hung out as teammat Carola 1999, Tuaolo never once let on that he was gay. Those are challeng most gay people have to go through, but when you are alg wh alpha mal and some meatheads an NFL locker room 's amplified. Sam's announcement at a time gay rights and sports have llid at the Olympics Sochi.

Rsia's anti-gay propaganda law has received much attentn, and cricism, bee of the gam. "By rewrg the script for untls young athlet, Michael has monstrated the learship that, along wh his imprsive skills on the field, mak him a natural f for the NFL, " said Sarah Kate Ellis, print of GLAAD, a leadg lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr advocy anizatn. "Wh acceptance of LGBT people risg across our asts — our schools, church, and workplac — 's clear that Ameri is ready for an openly gay football star.

But New Orleans Sats lebacker Jonathan Vilma said jt last week on the NFL Network that a gay player "would not be accepted as much as we thk he would be accepted. Suggs told WFAN rad Febary 2013 that a gay teammate would have no problem the Ravens locker room.

NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY

Of tryg before all of that, before Sam me to terms wh who he is now as a 29-year-old man, wh his days on the field behd him, Sam said a short sentence that moved mountas: "I'm Michael Sam, I'm a football player, and I'm gay. Sam enterg the draft procs as an openly gay man was a lm tt for acceptance of LGBTQ+ people as full people; for Ameri's most profable men's sports leagu and how ready they were for an openly gay player; for a media so eager to get the story whout the abily to really unrstand .

By 2014, felt like Ameri was overdue to have an openly gay man playg one of the big four Amerin athletic leagu, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. In 2013 alone, Olympic diver Tom Daley, WNBA player Brtney Grer, soccer players Abby Wabach and Robbie Rogers were among at least 77 athlet to e out, acrdg to know, of urse, that Sam wouldn't be the only gay man Ameri's top-tier men's sports -- jt the only out one.

The implitns of havg a gay or bisexual man playg at the top level of Amerin sports was not lost on anyone at the time. Erik Hall, then a grad stunt and sports reporter for the Missourian, rattled off everyone he uld rell who knew Sam was gay. The year before Sam told the world he was gay, had been revealed that potential NFL rooki were still fieldg tsive, homophobic qutns durg the recg procs (as of 2018, they still may have been).

MICHAEL SAM, STAR MISSOURI FENSIVE END, OUT AS GAY

"I thk is hard if you're a gay or bisexual or queer profsnal athlete, " Barn said. '"The NFL -- and men's profsnal sports general -- seemed to be fairly ready for a gay man to play but they also weren't. "At the time, the way the "distractn" label was placed on Sam was as though the fact that he was gay and of self was a distractn to any prospective team.

"When you talk to athlet who aren't out, they will tell you they don't want to be a 'gay football player, ' they want to be a 'football player who also happens to be gay, '" Davis explaed.

"And that is a distctn for someone who has been playg this sport that has been their domant inty before they knew they were gay, for many of them. Davis says he got a ll om head ach Jeff Fisher almost immediately after Sam did; Fisher need guidance on what uld mean to have Ameri's first openly gay player as a rookie on his team.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR MICHAEL SAM: 'I'M AN OPENLY, PROUD GAY MAN'

By the time he tweeted this, his football reer had been over for a the College Athlete Vers Sam the Pro AthleteBack when Sam me out to his llege teammat the summer of 2013, the amount of support he had was unter to every stereotype you uld thk of when to homophobia and sports. "So this leav wh an asterisk next to Sam's name the rerd books and profsnal roster upon profsnal roster whout one openly gay or bisexual man's name. But wh nversatns wh other people the gay muny, there has been a perceived chillg effect on other profsnal athlet g out.

"What I believe is different now, is that athlet if they personally intify as gay, you will see more athlet tweetg and openly embracg this athlete, whereas before, when he was drafted was crickets.

"He said Michael Sam was a huge fluence on him g out, " Hall Hall and Barn agree that a shift toward acceptg a gay player might be generatnal.

MIZZOU NFL DRAFT PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM ANNOUNC HE'S GAY

Lookg back, the advice he would give the next potential gay football player, is that he should e out his own time.

N.F.L. PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM PROUDLY SAYS WHAT TEAMMAT KNEW: HE’S GAY

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.

Michael Sam, an All-Amerin fensive leman om Missouri and the Associated Prs' SEC Defensive Player of the Year, said that he is gay an terview wh ESPN's "Outsi the L" on stated publicly what his teammat and ach at Mizzou have known sce Augt: "I am an openly, proud gay man.