By now, we all know Michael Sam as the first openly gay NFL player. Sam admitted his sexual preference in February but is now claiming that his original plan was to wait until after the draft and tell whichever team drafted him that he was gay. Sam’s teammates at Missouri already knew that he was gay but kept his confidence until he felt it was the right time.
“When I came out in February, it actually wasn’t the time I wanted to come out. I was going to come out to my [pro] team – whoever drafted me,” Sam told the magazine.”
“When I came out in February, I did it because when I participated in the Senior Bowl, I was surprised how many people in the media knew. Everyone who did an interview with me said, ‘Okay, we know you’re gay, can we break the story?’ So I said okay, and I called my agent. The rest is history.”
“They knew they could tell whoever they wanted to, but they didn’t,” Sam, who grew up in Hitchcock, Texas, said. “They kept it secret. They didn’t have to. I was out. I did my own thing. I had my boyfriend.”
“I’m probably one of the few to be as blessed as I am, to have great teammates the way I did, and have the great coaching staff the way I did at Mizzou,” he said. “Everyone in that program was so respectful of me, I wanted to give them all I got.”
“I always knew I was different. I knew I had a male attraction probably in 7th grade,” he said, “but I didn’t act upon it. I didn’t act upon it in high school. But college was different. College is all about experimenting. I did, and then I was like, ‘This is who I am.’ ”
Although Sam was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, he wasn’t drafted until well into the 7th round and many believe it’s because he admitted to being gay. No one will ever know if this is true, but now that he has been given the opportunity to be part of an NFL team, it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds for Michael Sam. Although Sam continues to claim he is only interested in playing football, he seems to position himself in the media spotlight at every opportunity available to him.
In addition, Sam has done a very good job of quietly branding himself. It’s really unheard of for a 7th round draft pick to get high profile endorsements, such as VISA, and have jersey sales that rival 1st round draft picks. The argument is that Sam would’ve gone in the 3rd round had he not admitted that he was gay, but a 3rd rounder still doesn’t get the hype of a 1st rounder. People have applauded Sam’s bravery and courage, but not once has Sam shied from the cameras or turned away a money making opportunity that has come from his announcement.
There is no doubt that Sam would’ve gotten an opportunity to compete for an NFL roster spot, but the reality is that he wouldn’t have gone 1st or 2nd round and surely would not be able to capitalize financially the way he’s being afforded now even if he went 3rd round.
[h/t People]