All-American Michael Sam admits he is gay

Missouri All-American Michael Sam says he is gay, as covered by interviews on The New York Times and Outsports and ESPN.


Sam says, his revelation as a gay man in the world of NFL is a big deal, since no one has done it before.

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.

Meanwhile, the NFL issued the following statement, highlighting the courage of Michael Sam:

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.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel is also proud of Sam and how he lived the sports he is in:

Michael is a great example of just how important it is to be respectful of others, he's taught a lot of people here first-hand that it doesn't matter what your background is, or your personal orientation, we're all on the same team and we all support each other

If Michael doesn't have the support of his teammates like he did this past year, I don't think there's any way he has the type of season he put together.

There has been similar cases like this. Last year, NBA player Jason Collins admitted he was gay after the season.

NFL players Kwame Harris and Dave Kopay came out of their true gender orientation after their playing days.