Former Rams defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in NFL history, continues to be in the news.
There was the report of a deal between the NFL and the Rams based on drafting Sam so the Rams could avoid being on Hard Knocks. Now it's because Sam is on the cover of Attitude and telling the magazine he's encountered criticism for not being "gay enough" or "black enough."
“It’s terrible," Sam said, via the Advocate. "People have told me I’m not gay enough, people have told me I’m not black enough. I don’t know what that means. You want to be accepted by other people but you don't even accept someone just because of the color of their skin? I just don’t understand that at all."
Sam's experience hasn't been all bad. He told Attitude he was stunned by the amount of positive correspondence he received following his decision to come out before the 2014 NFL Draft.
“I started reading things that was going around, from people: emails, letters, Tweets, messages, everything – they were more positive than negative," Sam said. "‘People said oh my god I just can’t believe you had the courage to do that’. I said, ‘I’m just living my life.'
He continues: "So many young people who were scared to tell their parents, they were athletes themselves: [they wrote that] you gave me the courage to come out myself. You know, it was amazing."
Things didn't work out for Same in the NFL, but his release by the Rams, then the Cowboys, was more about his talent level than anything else. (Landing on the Rams, with Robert Quinn and Chris Long as starters at defensive end in a 4-3 scheme, wasn't really ideal either.)
The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year said multiple times he plans on giving the NFL one more shot. At this point it feels like a long shot.
