Michael Sam Drafted by the St. Louis Rams

In the last day of the NFL draft, openly gay Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, dispelling claims by homophobes that no team would draft an out gay player.  Kudos to the Rams.  And kudos to Michael Sam for his courage.  Amazingly, ESPN carried a video of Sam learning that he had been drafted and embracing and kissing his boyfriend.  I'm sure numerous heads exploded amongst the hate filled "godly folk."  Here are details from Out Sports:

Michael Sam has been drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He is the first openly gay athlete selected in the NFL Draft and becomes the first openly gay active player in NFL history.

Analysts had largely predicted he would be drafted on the third day of the draft, with most saying he would be selected in the fifth round. When he came out in February, most analysts had him being selected in the third to fifth round. Going in the seventh round is not a stretch from the earlier predictions. Sam's subpar performance at the NFL Combine likely hurt his draft stock a bit.

Sam came out publicly in February to overwhelming support. He had been out as gay to his team at Missouri but had not made a public announcement until talk to Outsports, ESPN and the New York Times.

This week has been big for Sam. On Wednesday, ESPN announced he would be the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. He also signed a deal with Visa, . . . .

It will be fascinating in the coming days to watch the reaction to the drafting of Sam. Some will point to his sexual orientation as the reason he wasn't drafted earlier.

Ultimately, Sam was selected in the NFL Draft, and that's what matters. He beat out thousands of other prospects for his ability to help a team. His character, his leadership, his onfield performance and his Combine performance were all weighed and the Rams made their selection when they thought they had to. His ability to sell jerseys and contribute to a national conversation were also likely taken into consideration, even though the team's coaches, owner and front office will likely dismiss that assertion.