All-America defensive end Michael Sam received a warm standing ovation when his image was shown on the arena video boards during the Missouri versus Tennessee basketball game on Saturday.
Sam, who could become the first openly gay player in the NFL, acknowledged the applause by blowing a kiss to the student section. He also shook hands with fans, according to a report by The Associated Press as published by Yahoo! Sports.
Sam and his teammates were later honored at halftime.
Many fans declared their support for Sam, who days ago publicly admitted his sexual preference. They wore shirts that bore the message "We Are All CoMo Sexuals"which pertains to Columbia, Mo. where Sam revealed his sexual orientation to his teammates on August. He would later reveal this to with the rest of the world on Sunday.
One of the many fans who supported Sam was Michelle Carmichael, who told AP: "Because Michael Sam stood up for Mizzou his entire career and we need to stand up for him."
Student body president Mason Schara said the school will always favor Sam despite his pronouncement. 'The majority of us knew and we just didn't think anything of it because that's just who we are here,'' Schara was quoted by AP. ''The fact that there's been such a positive reaction across the nation is what sparked us to be here today.''
While there are concerns that Sam's revelation would affect his draft status, Schara said the league should not judge the hopeful because he's gay. ''I am hopeful that the NFL won't care about something like this. It doesn't matter about his sexual orientation. He's a great player and everyone would be lucky to have him.''
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