This video of Michael Sam finding out he was drafted will *actually* restore your faith in humanity

[DonViejo]

Sam became the first openly gay player ever drafted by an NFL team

PETER FINOCCHIARO

Michael Sam made history on Saturday by become the first openly gay athlete ever to be drafted by an NFL team. There had been some doubt as to whether or not Sam would be drafted at all, but with the eighth-to-last pick in the 2014 NFL Draft’s seventh and final round, the St. Louis Rams selected the University of Missouri star. It was an historic moment made even more so by the remarkable video footage of Sam finding out he’d made the cut, which you can view below.

[StopTheNeoCons]

1. I will travel to St Louis from TX and be at the first game

Real Americans will crush the homophobic, right wing boycott of the Rams!

[Le Taz Hot]

11. I'm not into sports.

What's this about a boycott?

[Jamaal510]

29. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024928339

[Le Taz Hot]

34. And for every evangelical nutjob

who boycotts the Rams games, there will be 100 supporters to take their place. You'd think they'd get tired of being on the wrong side of history, but, nope.

[Jamaal510]

35. You'd also

think that they'd be more interested in attending church on a Sunday, considering how supposedly religious they are, but...you know the rest.

[etherealtruth]

2. I have watched this clip several times this morning

It chokes me up every time.

[roguevalley]

17. aren't they adorable? I like this michael sam kid. :D And I'm old so

there is hope for everyone.

[etherealtruth]

19. I am old, too

They are all 'kids' to me ... I can't help watching this through the eyes of a mom.

[roguevalley]

21. you and me both, E. :D My nephew came out to his parents and not

to the rest of us a short time ago. I don't think he gets it how much we don't care.

Its all good.

[catbyte]

3. For the life of me, how can anyone hate that?

[theHandpuppet]

13. You haven't visited ESPN

I visited the site last night to read the news on Sam being drafted. You would not believe some of the hateful comments I read there.

[catbyte]

16. Oh, I don't doubt it. I just can't wrap my head around the hate. I'm not built that way.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. He's going to be fierce on the playing fields.

I feel sorry for the guy on the other side who is assigned to try to take him down.

[theHandpuppet]

14. I believe he will be a great special teams player.

I wouldn't want to be the ball carrier meeting him on a kickoff return.

[Logical]

5. + 1000 to ESPN for their coverage. I loved that they pointed out how many players show this same....

emotion when drafted.

[nolabear]

6. That is the sweetest thing in the world. I'm in tears too.

To have to choose between your love and your profession is something that, I swear, should never occur to anyone.

[Spazito]

7. Very moving...

I am so happy for him! The video has me in tears along with him.

[SunSeeker]

8. K & R

[glowing]

9. I also loved his smack talk.. as each team was passing him by for a draft pick, he was thinking,

"I'm going to sack the quarterback on that team"... Love it. He's has such character, and completely comfortable with who he is. That has to take a huge burden off of his back... to not have to lie and hide in a closet during his NFL career. You know there are other gay players. They have been sitting in fear that someone would find them out... Perhaps, this may show them that their career won't be the end all be all if their being gay comes out... AND for future gay athletes in highschools and colleges across the country, they have a rolemodel and someone who came first. They can be who they are, do what they love, be with someone that they love, and for the most part, its been mostly celebrated.. and the haters are being shot down.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. <sniff>

Awwwww!

[xmas74]

12. That's not the one for me.

That's just a video of a man who is overcome with emotion when he realized that a childhood dream came true. He reacted no differently than so many others.

The video that gets me is this one:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/st-louis-rams/0ap2000000349383/Rams-select-Michael-Sam-with-No-249-pick

Listen to the cheers, the yells and how they begin to chant his name. Not a single "boo" or groan or anything else-just pure excitement. That's the video that makes me think that overall people are really good and are accepting of others.

[theHandpuppet]

15. Also loved the tweets from his Mizzou teammates

Missouri has now become a favorite college team of mine! Any school and coach that can turn out such a great bunch of kids is doing something right!

[xmas74]

18. I've never been a big Mizzou fan, even though I live in Missouri.

Now Mizzou basketball is soon to become another story. The new men's coach is a really great guy and deserves the absolute best. I'll be rooting for him and his assistant in the winter.


The tweets were lovely, though and really set it all off.

[roguevalley]

20. Sam jerseys are going off the hook

my great grandparents moved from Missouri during the civil war. Johnson County. Probably knew Jesse James. But they taught their kids to be good and fair. My mother, their granddaughter once slapped a man's face for using the n word in front of her. She was and always will be my hero. Stereotypes don't play anymore. Always, one soul at a time. You would have never though this was possible given my g. grandpa was a soldier in Shelby's Cavalry. Got caught by the Yankees, escaped prison and hid out in Illinois until the war was over. Then he left the south and never went back.

Go Michael Sam and show us all the way. (Oh and I'm still a fan of the rams even though they moved since the days of Sonny Sixkiller.)

[xmas74]

23. I live in Johnson County, Missouri.

It's growing more and more every year. I live about 40 minutes from KCMO.

[roguevalley]

25. the family listed as from Post Oak on the 1860's census. Beautiful

part of the state I am told. Who knows. Maybe my greats knew yours.

[xmas74]

26. My family wasn't from there.

I'm the first to live in this county, though my daughter has her roots now. (She was born here.)

I know where that's at. Maybe sometime I'll run out there and take a few pics of what's left and post them for you. If you ever want you can pass along their surname via pm and I'll keep an eye out in the old cemeteries. We have a Cemetery Club that tries to find and maintain old family cemeteries.

[roguevalley]

27. OMG. You are my hero. What a great club. Old time cemetaries are so

interesting.

Their names are Paxton. Any Paxton would be them. Also, Davis. Lavisa Davis is one.

Thank you, xmas74. Your offer is why I love this place. Kindness abounds.

[xmas74]

28. Ok. I need to save this thread with the info.

I don't know when it'll happen but I'll try to swing out there sometime. There's almost nothing in Post Oak but I believe there might be a small cemetery nearby.

[roguevalley]

30. Thanks. :D:D:D

[theHandpuppet]

22. I hope everyone here will take a few minutes to read this article

So you can realize just what kind of young man Michael Sam is and the obstacles he has overcome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/sports/football/for-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-upbringing-was-bigger-challenge-than-coming-out-as-gay.html

[xmas74]

24. I've tried to point that out to others.

His being gay was nowhere near his biggest obstacle in life. Being one of eight children, raised in poverty, father abandoned them, a couple of sibling deaths and two brothers in and out of jail for years-those were huge obstacles to overcome so early in life. He didn't have to be drafted or even signed by a single team to already be considered a winner at life. Now, he makes history.

[loyalsister]

31. it seems he has lived very purposefully

in the way he pursued football feeling that that was his way out.
I am glad that football continues to be good to him. That it is a sort of platform for him to take pride in his accomplishments and who he is, in a world that tries to shame LGBT people, is poetic.
I'm really happy for him and proud that my city and alma mater have supported him in the way all people deserve.

[Jefferson23]

32. I hope people watching that who may have been indiferent before, understand

now that no one should need to endure that kind of scrutiny and stress about
a position they are more than qualified to play.


K&R

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

33. Had the displeasure of reading comments on his being drafted in a Fox Sports article this morning.

Homophobia and racism are far from dead in this country.

ESPN has their comments disabled.

[ladyVet]

36. I was glad to hear he was drafted.

Hope he goes on to have a long and successful career, and achieves all he dreams of.