American Football player Michael Sam has been drafted by the St Louis Rams - and kissed his boyfriend on ESPN coverage. The Missouri Tigers defensive end, who was rated a 50/50 chance of being picked up by an NFL team, was grabbed in the seventh round of the draft with the 249th overall pick. It makes him the first ever openly-gay NFL draftee. When the announcement was made ESPN showed Sam's emotional reaction, and the hugs and kisses he shared with his boyfriend. (see the video below) It also later showed an elated Sam playfully shoving cake in his boyfriend’s face then kissing him again. After playing defensive end in college, the 6-foot player is expected to transition to outside linebacker in the NFL. Sam came out on ESPN’s Outside the Lines in February, saying: "I understand how big this is. It's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be ... I want to be a football player in the NFL." He’d come out to his Missouri teammates last year during pre-season training camp and said they supported him from day one. “I couldn't have better teammates. ... I'm telling you what: I wouldn't have the strength to do this today if I didn't know how much support they'd given me this past semester."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 11th May 2014 - 11:22am