Having come off of a successful career at the University of Missouri as SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Michael Sam made headlines before the NFL Draft by coming out publicly. The news dominated mainstream media all the way until Draft Day, where he was selected in the 7th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. This made him the first openly-LGBTQ player to be drafted in any major American sport, thus breaking barriers in an industry often characterized by its masculinity.

The journey which followed his announcement wasn’t easy by any means, but it was a transformative process stemming from his initial leap of courage to share with the world his sexuality. The Global Sport Institute was able to help amplify his story and experience to the public by partnering with the ASU Rainbow Coalition and ASU Black African Coalition for a special event on the University’s downtown Phoenix campus titled, “Masculinity, Identity, & Moving Forward: I Am Michael Sam.”

Listen to the full GlobalSport Matters podcast with Michael Sam

Read the GlobalSport Matters article on the event