US First Lady calls Sam ‘an inspiration to all of us’ in Twitter message and adds: ‘We couldn’t be prouder of your courage both on and off the field’
US First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter today to publicly congratulate University of Missouri football star Michael Sam for coming out publicly as a gay man.
‘You’re an inspiration to all of us, @MikeSamFootball. We couldn’t be prouder of your courage both on and off the field,’ Obama personally tweeted from her official @FLOTUS account.
Sam, a defensive end, is a highly-touted player expected to be snatched up early in this spring’s NFL draft. Once he is signed to a team, he would become the league’s first active openly gay player.
The athlete, who told his coming out story to ESPN and The New York Times as part of a well-orchestrated campaign, responded to the First Lady’s message with a tweet of his own: @FLOTUS Thank you for your kind words, humbled by your support.
Many others have shown public support as well including retired NFL star Deion Sanders who tweeted: ‘Michael Sam isn’t the 1st gay player in the NFL although he is the 1st 2 come out.#realtalk Let’s show him love like a family member. Truth’
Jason Collins, the NBA player who came out last April then was not hired by a team this season, said on Twitter that he had met with Sam over the weekend and called him ‘a great young man who has shown tremendous courage and leadership.’
Collins also tweeted: I can’t wait to cheer for whatever lucky team that drafts @mikesamfootball. Personally I hope he goes to my favorite team. The @Colts
Also weighing in was Robbie Rogers, the first openly gay player in the history of Major League Soccer in the US: ‘Very happy for Michael Sam. His courage will inspire millions to live their truth.’
Sam, who was not much of a presence on social media a day ago, had 56,000 followers as of Monday afternoon.
by Greg Hernandez
Source – Gay Star News
