Diehard football fans know that Michael Sam was an SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a seventh round draft pick for the St. Louis Rams in 2014.
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But to people who might just follow the game casually, he is known for something far larger -- and no doubt more important. Sam will go down in history as the first openly gay active player in the NFL. And his live-televised kiss with then-boyfriend Vito Cammisano was the defining moment when Sam, proudly, announced his presence to the world of pro football.
Relive the moment of Michael Sam's draft day here:
Oprah Winfey's OWN Network has been chronicling Sam's attempts to make it in the NFL as a defensive back for the past couple months. In the finished documentary, Sam dishes on his relationship with Cammisano, and the up-and-down trajectory their paths have taken.
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Because of his spot on the University of Missouri football team, Sam remained in the closet longer than Cammisano had. That discontent about how they presented their respective public lives took a toll on their relationship.
"I couldn't give him what he wanted at that time," Sam said, via The Huffington Post.
However, after a few months Sam was able to feel more comfortable in himself and who he was. He came out to his teammates, to universal support, and went on to dominate opposing SEC quarterbacks throughout the 2013 college football season. He and Cammisano are happily dating to this day.
"Times sure have changed -- for the better," Cammisano says.
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