The NFL may soon have its first openly gay player.
Missouri defensive lineman and first-team all-American Michael Sam publicly acknowledged his sexuality in stories that appeared on the New York Times and OutSports on Sunday. Sam reportedly came out to teammates earlier in the season.
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The timing of Sam's announcement is crucial. While Sam is not yet in the NFL, he did declare himself eligible for the upcoming draft. Experts projected that he would be drafted in the mid-to-late rounds, meaning he had a very high chance of being drafted.
With this announcement, his future as an NFL player has been put into doubt by some. Sports Illustrated
Despite increasing social acceptance, homosexuality has remained a sensitive topic in U.S. professional sports. John Amaechi became one of the most visible athletes of a major team sport to come out after discussing his sexuality in his memoir, titled Man in the Middle.
The NFL has had some rumors of gay players in the past -- two members of the 1993 Houston Oilers were reportedly known to be gay by their teammates -- but Sam would be the first openly gay player in the league to go through the draft with his sexual orientation already known to the public.
A Twitter account sprung up on Sunday, written by someone purporting to be Sam, tweeting words of thanks for the support he has received since the news stories appeared.
I want to thank everybody for their support and encouragement,especially @espn, @nytimes and @nfl. I am proud to tell my story to the world!— Michael Sam (@MikeSamFootball) February 10, 2014