There have been some mixed reactions to Missouri All-American defensive end Michael Sam coming out as a gay athlete, but Sam has the support of one important man in the National Football League--commissioner Roger Goodell.
Goodell confirmed his public support of Sam three days after Sam came out during an interview with ESPN's Outside the Lines.
"Good for him," Goodell said, via NFL spokesman Greg Aiello's Twitter page, according to ESPN. "He's proud of who he is and had the courage to say it. Now he wants to play football. We have a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. We will have further training and make sure that everyone understands our commitment. We truly believe in diversity and this is an opportunity to demonstrate it."
According to ESPN, Goodell has a gay brother and made the comments at Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition Wall Street Project in New York ahead of the assumption that Sam will be drafted this May and become the first openly gay NFL player in the history of the league.
NFL Players' Association president Dominique Foxworth told ESPN on Monday that he believed that Sam will be accepted with "open arms," despite some mixed reviews from some NFL players over welcoming a gay player to the league.
While Sam has received a lot of support throughout the league, New York Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas said he didn't believe that the NFL was ready for a gay player despite the fact that he thinks it's acceptable in regular society.
"I think society is ready for it and America's ready for it, but I don't think the NFL is," Thomas said via ESPN. "As a player, all you want to know is if he can play. That's on the field. But in the locker room, it's different. There's a lot of talk and joking around, and some guys walk around completely naked all the time, and they might not want to do that anymore. When you add that situation to the mix, I think it's going to make some people uncomfortable."
Sam, who is projected to be a mid-round pick, led the SEC with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss last season while helping Missouri reach the SEC championship game.
"I just want to go to the team who drafts me," Sam said Sunday per ESPN. "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."
While Sam hasn't been accepted by everyone--including his father who had a difficult time with it--he has a supporter in NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
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