Michael Sam, the first openly gay
player to be drafted into the National Football League (NFL),
recently said that other players in the league are gay.
The 25-year-old Sam, the Southeastern
Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, was cut by the St.
Louis Rams before the start of the season. He then joined the
Cowboys' 10-man practice squad, where he stayed for seven weeks
before being let go. Now a free agent, he will participate in the
NFL's upcoming Veterans Combine in Phoenix, Arizona.
“I'm just gonna say I'm not the only
one in the NFL that is gay, I'm just the only one that is out,” Sam
said Tuesday while addressing Quinnipiac students and faculty.
“They just want to protect their
livelihood. But there will be a time [when they come out]. There's
going to be a day.”
He added that his fiance, Vito
Cammisano, gave him the strength to come out publicly.
(Related: Michael
Sam proposed marriage to Vito Cammisano in Vatican City.)
“The challenge I get now is, why are
you not dating a gay black guy? … Why would I leave someone I fell
in love with and have been through so many challenges with?” Sam
rhetorically asked.