Tag: Michael Sam

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Michael Sam: I Never Would Have Come Out The Way I Did

In this month’s GQ Magazine, Michael Sam talks on life after coming out, and the fact that he would have never come out the way he did:

“I would have done the same thing I did at Mizzou. Which was to tell my team and my coaches and leave it at that. But since I did tell my team, word got out.… People think the word didn’t get out. It did. Or it did and it didn’t. They kept it confined within our family.

“But the recruiters knew, and reporters knew, and they talked to each other, and it got out. If I didn’t have the year I did, nobody would have cared. But I did have that year. And a lot of people knew.

“Someone was gonna ask me, “I heard you told your team a secret.…” Well, I was comfortable with who I was, and I wouldn’t have denied it. And then I wouldn’t have been able to control the story.

“But I have no regrets. Some people can argue that I had the potential to go higher in the draft. But I think everything happens for a reason. It looks good to see me in the position I’m in now, because I can show the world how good I am and rise up the ranks. I’m at the bottom now. I can rise up, show I’m a football player. Not anything else. Just a football player.

“In St. Louis, they welcomed me, but I felt they were just putting smiles on their faces. It was because they didn’t know my future. It was almost like the situation with a stray dog—you don’t want to get too close. In Dallas, they were more welcoming.”

Sam still inspires me.

And I agree with him about coming out. While it was thrilling that he did come out before the draft, the past year makes clear that the NFL wasn’t ready and couldn’t handle it.

Had Sam waited until he was drafted and playing in the NFL before telling his team, there’s no doubt he would have been drafted earlier, and would be playing today.

Every day I sit down at my desk I hope to read he’s been picked up by an NFL team. I believe it will happen.

Read the entire interview at GQ.

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NFL’s Michael Sam: “I Have No Regrets”

Out NFL-er Michael Sam talking to GQ Magazine’s Andrew Corsello:

“If I had it my way, I never would have done it the way I did, never would have told it the way I did,” Michael Sam tells GQ’s Andrew Corsello of his decision to come out prior to the NFL draft.

“But the recruiters knew, and reporters knew, and they talked to each other, and it got out. If I didn’t have the year I did, nobody would have cared.

“But I have no regrets. Some people can argue that I had the potential to go higher in the draft. But I think everything happens for a reason.

“It looks good to see me in the position I’m in now, because I can show the world how good I am and rise up the ranks. I’m at the bottom now. I can rise up, show I’m a football player. Not anything else. Just a football player.”

Read the full interview at GQ.

Who knows what’s next for Michael Sam, but I still believe in this guy. He was and is the right guy at the right time.

Watch.

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Michael Sam Named As One Of GQ’s “Men Of The Year”

Out NFL-er Michael Sam named as one of GQ Magazine's "Men Of The Year"

What a year for out NFL-er Michael Sam.

The 24 year old became the first openly gay football player to be drafted by an NFL team, the St. Louis Rams.

After a solid pre-season, Sam was cut by the Rams but picked up by the Dallas Cowboys for their practice squad. That stint lasted seven weeks but in characteristic courage and grace he publicly thanked the Cowboys owner, friends, family and fans for their support.

Where Sam goes from here, we wait and see. But I’m certain his journey has only just begun.

GQ Magazine gets big props for putting the handsome Sam on one of the six “Men Of The Year” covers.

Other cover men include Chris Pratt, Steve Carell, Dave Chappelle, Shailene Woodley, and Ansel Elgort.

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Michael Sam Goes Backstage On Broadway At “Kinky Boots”

Tony Award winner Billy Porter shared this pic with out NFL-er Michael Sam after Sam took in the award winning musical Kinky Boots this past Sunday.

A photo posted by Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:02pm PST

And another shot of the talented two-some via Bruce Glikas:

Tony Award winner Billy Porter with out NFL-er Michael Sam
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Michael Sam Released From Dallas Cowboys Practice Squad

Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, has hit another momentary stumbling block to joining the active roster of an NFL team.

Michael Sam has been released from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.

UGH.

From USA Today:

The Dallas Cowboys waived the rookie end off their practice squad Tuesday and signed linebacker Troy Davis.

Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team, was waived in the final round of cuts by the St. Louis Rams in August and was available for several days before the Cowboys picked him up.

Sam was drafted by the Rams in the seventh round out of Missouri.

Just this past weekend Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones was quoted as saying, “Sam has blended in seamlessly with the Cowboys” and that Sam’s sexuality was “a dead issue.”

The Cowboys defense had been considered weak in the last few seasons, so Sam seemed a good fit for the practice squad. But the Cowboys have racked up an impressive 6-1 record in the current NFL season.

With his trademark class and positive perspective, Sam made this statement via Twitter:

“I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday.”

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Quote of the Day: Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys on Michael Sam

Dallas Cowboys’ Michael Sam

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Michael Sam’s sexuality – “It’s a dead issue. A dead issue:”

“Sam has blended in seamlessly with the Cowboys, doing whatever is asked of him in practice – even playing a little offense on the scout squad. He watches from the sidelines with the other practice players during home games, coming up to the edge of the field to study the defense and going back to the bench to join in the breakdowns after each series.

“He comes to work every day, practices hard,” coach Jason Garrett said last week. “He’s working on his skills and trying to develop.”

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Jon Stewart: Remember when the NFL though a GAY player would be a distraction?

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show reminds us of those golden days when the NFL’s most worrisome headache was the claim that out NFL-er Michael Sam gave franchise owner heartburn because they worried about his homosexuality “becoming a distraction.”

Well, can’t you imagine what the NFL would give for the hunky Mr. Sam to do something – ANYTHING – to cause a distraction from the current scandals rocking the football world?

Between the Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice getting national attention for punching out his then-fiance back in February, and now the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson whipping his four year old child until his son bled, a gay football player looks pretty tame now, doesn’t it?

Stewart puts it all into perspective, as only he can, below:

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Bryan Fischer: NFL discriminated against every straight player by signing Michael Sam

Anti-gay hate group leader Bryan Fischer took to the air to lie about Michael Sam and the Dallas Cowboys:

Everyone is saying, look, he’s just not good enough to play in the NFL.

[snip]

What the NFL has done here is they have discriminated against every heterosexual football player that also got cut. They didn’t go to bat for those guys, they discriminated against everybody but Michael Sam.

The fact of the matter is almost across the board, respected sports writers said Sam IS good enough to play in the NFL when he was cut by the St. Louis Rams. With 3 sacks and 11 tackles with the Rams, he had an excellent preseason.

He was the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year.

Sam was cut from the Rams because the team was already rich in veteran players for the defensive line.

He was picked up by the Cowboys because – as yesterdays 28-17 loss against the San Francisco 49ers proved – they have a desperate need to address their defense.

Bryan Fischer becomes more and more irrelevant when he makes outright lies to his followers.

And by the way, isn’t lying a sin?

Ruh-roh.

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Extreme right-wing Christian group to protest Dallas Cowboys over signing Michael Sam

Anti-gay conservative activist Jack Burkman

Well, sadly, we all knew this was coming.

GOP lobbyist and conservative activist Jack Burkman says his extreme right-wing Christian group American Decency will protest this Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys game over the signing of out NFL-er Michael Sam:

Jack Burkman heads the group which claims to have 3.62 million members in 41 states. Burkman says, “We cannot just stand idly by as Christian values and morals are trampled. We will do whatever we can to preserve family values in this country.”

[snip]

Some callers to 105.3 The Fan made verbal tackles against Sam. One caller said, “I don’t want my kids looking up to me and say Daddy, what does that mean that he’s gay?” But other fans say with the Cowboy‎’s weak defense, they may need Michael Sam’s strengths. “If he can use the speed to get around the corner and get to the quarterback, hey, that’s all we need.”

You’ll recall that back in May, Burkman announced he would boycott any NFL team that signed Sam.

In February, he proposed a federal law banning gay athletes from the NFL.

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Michael Sam tweets on joining the Dallas Cowboys organization

Out NFL-er Michael Sam

On the day that Michael Sam began practice squad duties with the Dallas Cowboys, he broke his silence on Twitter to express his gratitude for the opportunity:

Sam is a class act guy, and as a native Texan I can’t wait to cheer for the Cowboys this fall.