I don’t think Michael Sam telling everyone he is gay is courageous, I think it is admirable that he doesn’t feel like he has to hide his sexuality. I think it was strategic business move, because would any of us be talking about Michael Sam if he wasn’t gay?
Going into the military is courageous, saying you are gay and benefiting from it is smart, but he shouldn’t be getting any purple hearts for it. While I disagree with his choice of words, I do agree that most gay athletes wish they could just be free to be whoever they are and not worry about any professional or personal repercussions. Sadly, a small portion of our population will ridicule anything in a very vile, prejudice and ignorant way. Since many of them are cowards who hide behind a computer it is hard to police that. So what many athletes do is just keep their private life, private, so they can focus on their job at hand on the court or field.
Here is what Sam had to say to Oprah.
Sam refuses to give a number at how many other players are gay, but says a small number contacted him.
‘Very few reached out to me and pretty much just told me their gratitude and how thankful they were that I had the courage (to come out publicly),’ Sam said.
‘They wished that they had the courage to come out.
‘(They) just showed their respect and admired my courage … It was very good.’
Sam believes the reason he isn’t in the NFL is because he is gay. There is really no way to prove that one way or another. The one thing we do know about the NFL is if you are a fringe player who brings any extra attention to the table good or bad, you can find yourself out of the job. Don’t believe me, ask Tebow.