Michael Sam, the 2013 SEC sacks leader and former Missouri defensive end, has announced he is gay. Apparently he informed the team last season, and everyone kept it quiet until Sam himself was ready to make it public.
February 9th, 2014, is that day.
Sam is poised to become the first openly gay player in NFL history, but enough of my words; here's the big fellah himself on the process:
I understand how big this is; it's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be ... I want to be a football player in the NFL.
I didn't realize how many people actually knew, and I was afraid that someone would tell or leak something out about me. I want to own my truth. ... No one else should tell my story but me.
... Coaches just wanted to know a little about ourselves, our majors, where we're from, and something that no one knows about you. And I used that opportunity just to tell them that I was gay. And their reaction was like, 'Michael Sam finally told us.'
And that, my friends, is how history is made. Congrats to Michael Sam on an absolutely monumental decision.
