Missouri All-American defensive lineman Michael Sam on Sunday announced he is gay, making it likely he will be the NFL's first openly gay player.

The 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end was a first-team team All-American and helped lead Missouri on its unexpected run to the SEC East Championship and Cotton Bowl win over rival Oklahoma state. Michael Sam led the SEC, considered college football's strongest conference, in sacks and is expected to be a mid-round draft choice, perhaps as high as the third round.

"I came to tell the world I'm an openly gay, proud man," Michael Sam said in an interview with ESPN.
Sam wasn't exactly in the closet — his teammates and coaches already knew he was gay — but he made the announcement because he wanted "to own my truth," he said.

"No one else should tell my story but me."

The news comes two weeks before the NFL scouting combine. How will it affect Sam's draft stock in what is widely perceived as North America's most homophobic professional sports league?

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