Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, received support from a teammate after an ESPN report by Josina Anderson on Tuesday morning on how the linebacker was adjusting to his life with his new teammates.
Sam’s showering habits were included in the report, which drew criticism on social media. In the report, Anderson quoted an anonymous Rams player, who said Sam might be steering clear of the showers to avoid making his teammates uncomfortable.
But hours after the report aired, Sam, who survived the first round of cuts and is on the team’s 75-man roster, received support from veteran defensive end Chris Long:
Anderson also quoted one of Sam’s teammates, defenseman Kendall Langford, who said the rookie from Missouri is “simply one of the guys.”
Responding to a flurry of criticism, ESPN defended its reporting.
“In response to recent questions about Sam fitting in with the team, multiple Rams brought up the shower topic and we relayed that information as part of our reporting.”
ESPN later apologized.
“ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly yesterday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports,” spokesman Josh Krulewitz wrote on Twitter.