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 Mark Memmott referenced a February 2014 interview that Sports Illustrated had with eight unnamed coaches and execs:
“‘I don’t think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet,’ one of the executives told SI.
‘I just know with this going on this is going to drop him down [in the draft],’ a veteran NFL scout added. ‘There’s no question about it. It’s human nature. Do you want to be the team to quote-unquote ‘break that barrier’?’
A former NFL general manager tells SI that it’s ‘not that [teams are] against gay people.’ But for the team that selects Sam, ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry in the media is going to show up, from ‘Good Housekeeping’ to the ‘Today’ show. A general manager is going to ask, ‘Why are we going to do that to ourselves?’”
Teams around the league will do anything to avoid unnecessary distractions. The final quote Memmott mentioned highlighted the main discourse around drafting Sam, saying that he’d bring a media frenzy to wherever he went.
If Sam had anything resembling Donald’s abilities, then wouldn’t all the attention have been worth it? Hard to believe the Rams wouldn’t have embraced the circus with open arms.
Instead, Sam was cut loose before getting a fair shake. Only the Cowboys attempted to give him a second chance, but the Mizzou product never took the field in a meaningful game in the NFL. Something about the situation never felt right, considering how many bad or mediocre players are given multiple chances throughout their respective careers.
Sam never had a chance in such a cowardly league. There was even a report circulated by St. Louis radio station 590 The Fan in 2016 that reported the Rams picked Sam to avoid appearing on “Hard Knocks.”
Fisher told ESPN the report was “absurd and 100% incorrect.”
“We drafted Michael, who was the best player on the board. And who in their right mind would think that you’d give up a draft choice to avoid doing something like that—something that I think would benefit the organization.”
Sam, on the other hand, called B.S.
I’m not surprised at all https://t.co/wGnyFpuIVP
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSam52) March 23, 2016
Being careful not to fall victim to baseless conspiracy theories like Aaron Rodgers, I could see this being true. Remember how I said teams will do anything to avoid any outside noise?
Michael Sam’s story is tragic, especially when former Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib saw more widespread acceptance after coming out in a 2021 Instagram video.
Pioneers like Sam often suffer through unfortunate challenges to pave the way for others. Even worse, pioneers have to be subjected to some of the most idiotic debates in human existence:
The NFL is a different place than it was in 2014. Does that mean the NFL avoids a case of déjà vu if another openly gay prospect entered the draft? I’m doubtful, but there are glimmers of hope.
Outsports reported earlier this month that 24 of the league’s 32 teams have posted messages of support in honor of Pride Month. With the current administration seeking to wipe out all signs of diversity, any support for the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups is welcome.
As an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, there is still plenty of work to do in creating a more inclusive world.
I recall coming across a story from Sam’s college days when he returned to campus to accept the Tigers’ 2014 Cotton Bowl trophy during halftime of a Mizzou basketball game. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for picketing at the funerals of gay soldiers, made the trip to Columbia to protest Sam’s return.
The only thing you must know about Westboro is that its members deserve to be flambéed in the furthest depths of hell.
Anyway, two members of the campus community came up with the idea of making a human wall to block out Westboro’s hateful chants. An estimated 2,000 people attended, forming a line that stretched almost half a mile long. It was an astonishing sight of love amid the chill of the bitter Missouri weather to support someone whom many of them had never met.
That is the power of acceptance, or what the NFL can stand to have more of. Change won’t happen all at once, yet the league can stand to do more with its platform than wave around rainbow logos every June.
Sam deserved better, plain and simple. He deserved a league that didn’t flinch at the announcement of his authentic self. The NFL typically celebrates unique personalities, but only when it fits within their comfort zone.