Defensive End Michael Sam was drafted in the 7th round of the National Football League 2014 draft, becoming the first openly gay player to accomplish this. As with any social breakthrough, Sam’s has been met with mixed responses.
Many have had positive reactions to the St. Louis Rams drafting Sam, particularly gay rights advocates and human rights activists. Recently, when www.outsports.com took a survey of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community’s favorite sport, professional football came in first place by far. This spike in popularity for the NFL among LGBT fans seems to have been a direct effect of Sam being drafted.
“People who have never liked football are buying Michael Sam jerseys,” said Outsports cofounder Cyd Zeigler to www.theguardian.com. “People who have never watched a game watched the draft.”
However, Sam’s drafting has also created some backlash. The video of Sam embracing his boyfriend Vito Cammisano when Sam found out that he had been drafted is riddled with vulgar comments on the Internet, and a decent amount of his teammates are still uneasy with his presence in the locker room. Sam’s teammates also seem to be alienated by the idea of an Oprah Network reality show being focused on Sam and his trials to find a spot on the team’s roster during training. In good judgment, Sam has decided not to go through with the show because of the potential distraction it would present to the team and himself.
From a strictly football-related standpoint, while Sam may have been the co-Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the year in 2013 in college, many believe that his seemingly limited physical abilities may keep him from making the final roster. In his recent workouts, Sam’s numbers have not been impressive, running a 4.91 40-yard dash and benching only a total of 17 reps of 225 pounds.
Making an NFL roster as a 7th round pick is extremely difficult for anyone. Though Sam has shown great courage in regard to his personal life, he still needs to prove himself as a worthy player of a spot on the Rams.