Michael Sam, who was the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, has said that other players in league are also gay but are not willing to come out.
TMZ Sports reported that while speaking at a Q&A session in Dallas on Thursday, Sam said that there are other gay players who have personally reached out to him about their sexual orientation.
"I am not the only gay person in the NFL,” the former Missouri Tigers defensive end said. “I'm just saying there is a lot of us.”
Sam added that some of those players are well known, but he would never reveal their identities.
"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're [on]. I'm just saying there's some famous people, and I'm not the only one."
His comments should not come as a surprise to anyone. After all, there are more than 1,600 athletes who play in the NFL; are we to believe that none of them are gay?
Sam’s transition from college to the league meanwhile hasn’t exactly gone smoothly. As the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted, he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, but was cut in August. He later spent time on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. The 25-year-old is currently a free agent and contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
Image via INFphoto.com