Coaches at the University of
Missouri divided players
into small groups at a preseason football practice last year for a team-building exercise. One by
one, players were asked to
talk about themselves — where they grew up, why they chose Missouri and what others might not
know about them.
As Michael Sam, a defensive lineman, began to speak, he
balled up a piece of paper in his hands. “I’m gay,” he said. With that, Mr. Sam set himself on a path to become the first publicly gay player
in the National Football
League.
“I looked in their eyes, and they just started shaking their heads — like, finally, he came out,” Mr. Sam said Sunday in an interview with
The New York Times, the first time he spoke publicly about his sexual
orientation.
Mr. Sam, a 6-foot-2, 260- pound senior, went on to a stellar season for Missouri, which finished 12-2 and won the Cotton Bowl. He was named a first-team all-American. He was the defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, widely considered the top league in college football.
Teammates voted him Missouri’s most valuable player.
Source. Mynewyorktimes
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