MICHAEL SAM SAYS HE'S NOT THE NFL'S FIRST GAY PLAYER AND THAT THERE ARE CURRENTLY MANY OTHERS

MICHAEL SAM

Michael Sam became the first gay player associated with the NFL to come out publicly and declare who he is before the media could. According to Sam however, he quickly found out he was far from the first gay player in the league.

Although he isn’t naming names, Michael Sam is saying there are currently many gay players in the league who have decided to remain in the closet.

During an appearance at an event in Dallas last night, Sam declined to offer a number, but said there were many players who reached out to him last offseason to thank him.

“I am not the only gay person in the NFL,” Sam said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m just saying there is a lot of us. I respect the players that did reach out to me and had the courage to tell me that they were also gay, but they do not have the same courage as I do to come out before I even played a down in the NFL.

“Was it a risky move? Yes. But at that moment, the reason why I came out is I thought it wasn’t going to be a big deal. Maybe I was naive. Maybe I thought it was 2014, and people will understand that there’s gay NFL players. There’s gay athletes everywhere. But I was clearly wrong. It was a huge deal.

“The players who have reached out to me and told me about their sexual orientation, it just means a lot. But I will never say anything about who they are, what teams they are [on]. I’m just saying there’s some famous people, and I’m not the only one.”

Whoever these players are, they have to be very trusting to allow Sam to know a secret like that about them. I wonder if any of them regret talking to him about it.