Openly gay athlete Michael Sam has finally spoken. The Rams rookie took the high road when responding to remarks made by Tony Dungy that he would not have drafted him if he were in charge of the St. Louis Rams.
Sam had this to say to ESPN ‘s Rams writer Nick Wagoner regarding Dungy:
Sam on Dungy’s comments: “Thank God he wasn’t the St. Louis Rams coach. (laughs) I have a lot of respect for Coach Dungy.” (1 of 2)
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) July 22, 2014
“And like everyone in America, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.” (2 of 2)
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) July 22, 2014
Even Jeff Fisher, the current Rams head coach disagreed with Dungy in an appearance on ESPN ‘s Mike & Mike today. When asked if Michael, the first openly gay player in history was a distraction at camp, as Tony Dungy alluded to, Fisher declared, “absolutely not” to the question.
“Let’s define distraction. There were a couple extra cameras during the early OTAs, there may have been an extra camera yesterday as the rookies reported and went on the field for the first time, but no, it’s not.”
Jeff continued on that Michael Sam is “a very passionate athlete” who is “very focused on trying to make this football team.” Finally, Coach Fisher had this to say about Sam’s chances of making the roster:
“We want to give Michael every opportunity, like I said over and over, to make this football team.”
Dungy meanwhile has been on damage control ever since his controversial comments were released as part of an article with the Tampa Tribune. As reported by Inquistr , Tony attempted to clarify his comments on Michael Sam, stopping short of an apology:
“I was not asked whether or not Michael Sam deserves to play in the NFL. He does,” Dungy said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Michael Sam is hard at work trying to prove himself to the NFL world. According to ESPN reporter Nick Wagoner’s Twitter feed, Sam came to camp slimmer in hopes of making a difference on special teams:
Rams DE Michael Sam said he’s lost 13 pounds since OTAs. Down to 257 pounds, passed conditioning test and said he’s faster and stronger.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) July 22, 2014
For those asking about Sam’s weight loss, he wanted to get faster so he can help on ST coverage units. Says he dropped weight, added speed.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) July 22, 2014
Whether or not Michael Sam will prove Tony Dungy wrong and make the team remains to be seen.
[ Michael Sam photo courtesy the NY Times ]
