Michael Sam Says He’s Not the Only Gay NFL Player -blogged by @CoolWitha_k

So in a post-speech Q&A at the 2015 Dallas Holocaust Museum Upstander Speaker Series, Michael Sam, decided to share that he wasn’t the only gay player in the NFL according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. No duh. You aren’t really shocked, are you?

The former defensive end, who claims Dancing with the Stars as his current employer, has had it rough in the league. He barely got a spot on the St. Louis Rams’ roster, was sent to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad and was then cut in October. Now he’s shedding light on the other, anonymous amount of gay men in the NFL. No names or teams were dropped, but Sam did say “there’s some famous people” on that list. It’s best if he keeps said gentlemen to himself though, since I’m pretty sure he’ll be essentially blackballed from most teams for stirring up that kind of trouble. Sam has accredited his firing as a reason most of these guys have not come out. He also said that a few of the other homosexual players reached out to him but that they don’t “have the same courage” because they’ve yet to share their little secrets with the public.“I just want to know if I’m truly not in the NFL it’s because of talent,” said Sam. I’m going to go on a limb and say he’s not in the league because he’s only a subpar athlete. The man ran a 4.99 at the veterans combine for heaven’s sake. Sure, he shook the table when he professed his sexual preference shortly before the 2014 NFL draft and again when he kissed his boyfriend on national TV. And you know there was plenty speculation as to why he chose to. But even he told reporters he doesn’t think his sexuality is the reason he’s not playing. Which makes it very unclear as to why this keeps coming up.

Only a bigoted-idiot would deny a truly qualified player of playing because he’s gay. Especially in this day in age and with the money-hungry ownership in the NFL. That’s not say there aren’t still civil issues that need to be sorted, but homosexuality is nowhere near the stigma it was even 20 years ago. But for somebody who thought him coming out “wasn’t going to be a big deal,” he sure reminds us of his sexuality as often as possible.

I love people for owning who they are and doing so loudly and proudly. However, if this is a self-oppression tactic to land another try in the NFL, Sam can take this tea on the road and write a tell-all when he’s done.

Sources Cited:

Michael Sam: ‘I’m not the only gay person in the NFL’: Charean Williams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Sam on gay players: ‘A lot of us’: ESPN.com News Services