14 DAY TRIAL // The recent confession on Sunday evening that Michael Sam made, officially coming out as gay, is considered to be a major event in the NFL, one that is going to permanently change the face of professional football.
Based on the outcome of this surprising revelation, it's thought that other players may or may not choose to also come out. So far, the responses have been positive, both from the league, the team management, as well as from other players.
The NFL has issued a public statement quoted by USA Today in which it says “We admire Michael Sam's honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL. We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”
Sam confessed that the reason why he chose to openly admit he was gay was because he was afraid some people caught on and were going to leak the information to the press or turn it into a scandal.
“I didn't realize how many people actually knew, and I was afraid that someone would tell or leak something out about me,” Sam said and added, “I want to own my truth. ... No one else should tell my story but me.”
Sam's decision to come out is historical at the moment, since no other NFL players have admitted to being gay while their careers were active. There were some players that admitted to being gay, but only after they had retired.
Now, Sam is considered a trailblazer for all LGBT young people, and many think that he is going to inspire many others into coming out.
However, the Missouri player isn't kidding himself as to the influence his confession is going to have on the future of his career, but he's trying to keep himself positive, “I'm not naive. I know this is a huge deal and I know how important this is. But my role as of right now is to train for the combine and play in the NFL.”