Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons on Sunday
applauded Michael Sam for coming out gay.
Sam came out last week in interviews
with ESPN and The New York Times. The college football player
is a strong NFL draft prospect. If drafted, Sam would become the
NFL's first openly gay player.
“Good for him,” Simmons
told Talk to Al Jazeera host Soledad O'Brien. “Bad for
America that he's the first openly gay [player]. … There's a lot of
gay players that will be proud of him and rooting for him – gay
football players, right now, in every locker [room] in almost every
team, who are rooting for him, and straight guys like me, rooting for
him.”
Simmons also reiterated his support for
marriage equality.
“Gays should get the rights that we
want for ourselves,” Simmons said. “The respect that we demand
for ourselves, we should give to others. … People should have the
right to live freely in our society, you know?”