Michael Sam made NFL history Saturday, becoming the first openly gay player taken in the college draft when the Rams took the Missouri defensive end in the seventh round.
Sam was taken with the 249th overall pick and celebrated by kissing his boyfriend, a moment broadcast live by ESPN.
“Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis,” Sam immediately wrote on Twitter. “I’m using every ounce of this to achieve greatness!!”
Michael Sam kisses boyfriend after getting call that he’s been drafted by the Rams #NFLDraft: pic.twitter.com/K7LlESFhlj
— Neetzan Zimmerman (@neetzan) May 10, 2014
Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis. I’m using every once of this to achieve greatness!! pic.twitter.com/QESdOJVzsw
— Michael Sam (@MikeSamFootball) May 10, 2014
There was also some buzz on Twitter that the Rams were about to make news.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher toasted the moment by saying “in a world of diversity we live in, I am honored to be a part of this,” but Fisher insisted Sam was chosen because of his football ability and not his groundbreaking personal status.
“Michael is the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and that’s important to us,” Fisher said, who added that he was “excited” about the possibility of adding Sam to one of the best pass-rush groups in the NFL with Robert Quinn and Chris Long.
Quinn quickly welcomed Sam to the team, indicating Sam’s sexuality wouldn’t be an issue — at least publicly — in the locker room.
“Welcome to the squad @MikeSamFootball,” Quinn wrote.
The Rams made Sam, 24, the third of their four picks in the seventh round and final round of the draft. Sam also was just eight spots removed from going undrafted completely until St. Louis stepped in to grab the home-state college standout.
No reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year ever had been taken lower than the fourth round, but teams had concerns about his football skills. Sam’s sexuality isn’t thought to have played a major role — if it played a role at all — in for his fall.
Sam revealed his sexuality shortly before the scouting combine in February, then performed so poorly in Indianapolis that several teams considered him undraftable.
Sam ran the 40-yard dash at the combine in just 4.91 seconds, which is glacial for a linebacker or pass-rushing defensive end, and he also struggled in the weightlifting and agility drills.
Sam improved on that 40 time at his pro day running it in 4.7 seconds. That wasn’t enough to make teams forget about Indianapolis or ease their concerns about him being a “tweener” at 261 pounds — too small to play end and not athletic enough to play outside linebacker.
Sam’s tweener status became an issue at the Senior Bowl, where he played linebacker and struggled to cover receivers and tight ends.
Some scouts also thought Sam’s 11 ¹/₂ sacks as a senior for Missouri last season — while enough to help him win a share of the league’s top individual honor — should have come with an asterisk because he compiled almost all of them in just three games.
But the possibility of Sam going undrafted, which would have been a PR black eye for the league at a time when it is still reeling from the Dolphins’ bullying scandal last fall, became moot when the Rams finally put his name on a draft card.
Nets center Jason Collins, who recently became the first openly gay player in the NBA, tweeted his congratulations to Sam shortly before Brooklyn took the court for its playoff game with the Heat. Others celebrities and athletes quickly joined in.
“This is a great day for the NFL and Michael Sam and his family,” Collins said.
If Sam was not drafted, the Giants were interested in signing him as an undrafted free agent, according to the NFL Network. Sam also would have been a priority free agent for the Bears and Ravens, according to the report.
Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.