Turf Show Times
The NFL wasn’t ready for Michael Sam, and over a decade later, it still isn’t
It’s been well over a decade since Michael Sam announced to the world, “I am an openly, proud gay man.”
Sam, during a February 2014 ESPN interview, declared that he wanted to go to a team that accepted him for who he is:
“I just want to go to the team who drafts me, because that team knows about me, knows that I’m gay, and also knows that I work hard. That’s the team I want to go to.”
That team wound up being the Rams. The seventh-rounder stole all the headlines that year, including from fellow teammate and future Hall of Famer, Aaron Donald. At one point, Sam had the NFL’s sixth-highest selling jersey behind stars like Russell Wilson, Peyton Manning and Richard Sherman.
The Rams were involved in history, and despite that, there is reason to be wary of the league’s embrace of openly gay players and the LGBTQ+ community in the last several years.
***Before I go any further, a message for anyone who might get offended about this “woke” article: If you’re that bothered about the content, you’re more than welcome to read something else ... on another Rams site. Thank you!**
Keep in mind that Sam wasn’t a highly touted player coming out of Missouri. He was projected as a mid-round pick before falling to No. 249 overall. This was after his senior season, where he led the SEC with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss, and was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Alabama’s C.J. Mosley.
Regardless of his accolades, Sam was considered too small to play defensive end and too slow to play outside linebacker. His disappointing performance at that year’s Senior Bowl and NFL Combine also hurt his chances of going higher.
While it’s easy to look back and simply imply that Sam was blackballed for being gay—not entirely unrealistic after seeing how the league treated Colin Kaepernick—his football skills are likely what limited his NFL opportunities.
Plus, the Rams weren’t lacking on the defensive line during his rookie season, with Donald and Robert Quinn already in tow. This was something Sam acknowledged during a 2022 feature for “SportsCenter.”
Well, okay, remember that this is the NFL we’re talking about, and it’s entirely possible that homophobia played a bigger role in his lack of professional opportunities.
Just two days after head coach Jeff Fisher said he believed Sam could play in the NFL, he failed to make the Rams’ 53-man roster or add him to the practice squad. At the time, Fisher claimed:
“It was a football decision and it was no different than any other decision that we make,” via Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
So, was it a “football decision” to move Sam further down a team’s draft board because of his announcement? That’s what a few NFL coaches and executives claimed ahead of the draft.
[NPR’s...
