Michael Sam saga might keep other gay NFL hopefuls om g out, former exec says | Sportg News

Contents:

• MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER, RETIR FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS
• REMEMBERG MICHAEL SAM'S NFL, CFL REER AFTER RAIRS' CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE'S GAY
• MICHAEL SAM SAGA MIGHT KEEP OTHER GAY NFL HOPEFULS OM G OUT, FORMER EXEC SAYS
• MICHAEL SAM, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, LEAV FOOTBALL
• NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD REGRETS NOT COMG OUT AFTER SEEG MICHAEL SAM BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER
• OBAMA NGRATULAT MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER DRAFTED BY NFL

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. 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.

REMEMBERG MICHAEL SAM'S NFL, CFL REER AFTER RAIRS' CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC 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. 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.

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

One such athlete is Michael Sam, the NFL's first active gay football player. 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. 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. On Monday night, Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay, but that raised a key qutn among some NFL fans.

MICHAEL SAM, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER, LEAV FOOTBALL

Michael Sam was the first openly gay player to be drafted to the NFL.

Carl Nassib is officially the first ACTIVE NFL player to e out as gay.

NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM OUT AS GAY

So, long story short, Sam was the first openly gay player to be drafted to the NFL. Nassib is the first active NFL player — who has been on a 53-man roster, has played durg the regular season and is still playg — to e out as gay.

9, 2014 — Sam officially announc that he is gay terviews wh the New York Tim and ESPN. 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 .

COLTON UNRWOOD REGRETS NOT COMG OUT AFTER SEEG MICHAEL SAM BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER

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.

OBAMA NGRATULAT MICHAEL SAM, FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER DRAFTED BY NFL

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). "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.

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. It's the headle that is burned my bra: "Michael Sam, Our Great Gay Hope.

"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. '"Hall recently terviewed Kyle Goodw, a gay diver om Sam's alma mater, Mizzou.

"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. Lookg back, the advice he would give the next potential gay football player, is that he should e out his own time. Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted by an NFL team, has voiced his support for Carl Nassib, the first active player to announce he is, a fensive end for the Las Vegas Rairs, ma the announcement on Instagram on Monday.

”Sam, also a fensive end and a star at the Universy of Missouri, or Mizzou, was 24 and a wily touted prospect the 2014 NFL Draft when he told ESPN: “I am an openly proud gay man. Ziegler said the media talks too much about the stggl of gay athlet and how homophobic football n be.