NFL star: Openly gay player Michael Sam was a ‘publicity stunt’
An American football player has claimed that openly gay player Michael Sam only got drafted in the sport as a “publicity stunt”.
Sam – who has had brief spells with the St Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys – made history as the first openly gay NFL player, though he is yet to play an on-season game.
He got engaged to partner Vito Cammisano in January, and recently appeared on Dancing with the Stars.
However, Jacksonville Jaguars player Sen’Derrick Marks dismissed Michael Sam’s drafting as a ‘publicity stunt’, while commenting on reports that NFL plans to introduce a female referee.
He told TMZ of Sarah Thomas, tipped to be the sport’s first female ref: “Ain’t nothing wrong with it, especially as long as she knows what she’s doing.
“It’s just like the Michael Sam situation – if he wasn’t gay, he would have gone undrafted.
“Instead, the league drafts him because I think they are trying to monopolize every aspect of the world..the same thing with a female ref.
“For the league, it’s great publicity. The NFL is all about monopolizing every opportunity.”
While playing at University, Sam was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year – and had in fact originally been tipped to be drafted by a big team before he came out.
However, his brief spells with the Rams and Cowboys resulted in extreme press scrutiny – and the player is currently teamless.
