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Michael Sam

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25 Sep, 2015

Claims he would still be in NFL if hadn’t come out

Interview0 Comments

In an interview Patrick on the Dan Patrick Show, Sam talks about coming out.

I wanted to come out after I made an NFL roster, it really wasn’t supposed to be public. It was just supposed to be to the team, as I did at the University of Missouri. I wanted to be the one to tell my own story. I didn’t want someone telling it for me.dan pat

When Patrick asks Sam if coming out hurt his professional career:

I’m not going to say … but it probably would have been better for me if I didn’t come out, I would be on a roster. But, as I said, I have no regrets whatsoever.

Michael Sam on The Dan Patrick Show (Full Interview) 9/25/15

26 Mar, 2015

‘Not the only gay person in the NFL’

Gives Talk0 Comments

Speaking at the Dallas Holocaust Museum Upstander Speaker series, Sam claims he is not the only gay player in the NFL. He says that other gay NFL players have reached out to him.

I am not the only gay person in the NFL. I’m just saying there is a lot of us. I respect the players that did reach out to me and had the courage to tell me that they were also gay, but they do not have the same courage as I do to come out before I even played a down in the NFL…Was it a risky move? Yes. But at that moment, the reason why I came out is I thought it wasn’t going to be a big deal. Maybe I was naive. Maybe I thought it was 2014, and people will understand that there’s gay NFL players. There’s gay athletes everywhere. But I was clearly wrong. It was a huge deal.

The players who have reached out to me and told me about their sexual orientation, it just means a lot. But I will never say anything about who they are, what teams they are [on]. I’m just saying there’s some famous people, and I’m not the only one.

24 Feb, 2015

Joins Dancing With The Stars

Casting0 Comments

Sam joins the cast of Dancing With The Stars.

11 Feb, 2015

Season 20 celebrity cast anounced

Casting0 Comments

Eleven of the 12 celebrities couples for the Season 20 cast are announced on ABC’s Good Morning America. The couples are: Noah Galloway & Sharna Burgess, Robert Herjavec & Kym Johnson, Patti LaBelle & Artem Chigvintsev, Nastia Liukin & Derek Hough, Riker Lynch & Allison Holker, Charlotte McKinney & Keo Motsepe, RedFoo & Emma Slater, Michael Sam & Peta Murgatroyd, Willow Shields & Mark Ballas, Suzanne Somers & Tony Dovolani, Rumer Willis & Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Alfonso Ribeiro:

The one thing I would say to everybody is simply that it is a marathon, not a sprint, It’s not about winning week one, it’s about winning that final week. You’ve got to take it slow, pace yourself. Go hard, learn everything, and be the best you can be and give it 100 percent, but pace yourself.

'Dancing With the Stars' 2015: Season 20 Celebrity Cast Announced

24 Dec, 2014

Contacted by gay players

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Sam tells Oprah Winfrey that other gay players in the NFL have contacted him since he was drafted. After his seventh-round pick for the St. Louis Rams made him the first openly gay player to be drafted, he says others thanked him:

[…] there’s a lot of us out there. A very few reached out to me and pretty much just told me their gratitude and how thankful they were that I had the courage [to come out]. They wished that they had the courage to come out.

23 Dec, 2014

Oprah interview

Interview0 Comments

Sam gives an interview to Oprah and claims other gay players in the NFL have reached out to him.

Very few reached out to me and pretty much just told me their gratitude and how thankful they were that I had the courage (to come out publicly). They wished that they had the courage to come out.

3 Dec, 2014

‘I don’t think it had to do with talent’

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Sam implies that being gay could be the reason he is no longer playing in the NFL during an interview at LAX taped by TMZ Sports.

I think I was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last year … so I don’t think it had to do with talent.

22 Nov, 2014

GQ cover

Magazine Cover0 Comments

Michael Sam GQ cover imageSam appears on one of six GQ Men of the Year issue covers. Sam discusses his relationship with his family.

Only a handful of people really know how I was raised. Certain family members weren’t…there. They were ghosts. My brothers were the ones who were there. Most of the time, that was scary. I tried to stay away as much as possible. We called the cops on my brothers so many times I can’t even count. Not only for hurting me. They’d abuse my sisters. Verbally abuse my mom. My brothers were evil people. I don’t have a relationship with them now. They’ve both written me letters from prison. For them to dare to call themselves my brothers—I can’t live with that.

21 Oct, 2014

Released by Cowboys

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Sam is released by the Dallas Cowboys in favor of linebacker Troy Davis.

I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday.

2 Sep, 2014

Will join Cowboys practice squad

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Sam is expected to join the Dallas Cowboy’s practice squad as long as he passes the physical. The Cowboys play the Rams in week three of the season. NFL insider Adam Schefter tweets: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/506902786161016833

30 Aug, 2014

Cut by Rams

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Sam is cut by the St. Louis Rams. Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher:

There’s no challenge with respect to Mike Sam. He’s not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked, and you can’t ask anything more out of any player, for that matter.