I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it. I just want to own my truth.

I wish you guys would just say, 'Michael Sam, how's the football going? How's training going?' But it is what it is. And I just wish you guys would see me as Michael Sam the football player instead of Michael Sam the gay football player.

But I will never say anything about who they are, what teams they are on. I'm just saying there's some famous people, and I'm not the only one.

To anyone out there especially young people feeling like they don't fit in and will never be accepted, please know this, great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself.

The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I've always known. The journey continues.

Thank God he wasn't the St. Louis Rams' coach. I have a lot of respect for Coach Dungy and like everyone in America, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Was it a risky move? Yes, but at that moment, the reason why I came out is I thought it wasn't going to be a big deal. Maybe I was naive. Maybe I thought it was 2014, and people will understand that there's gay NFL players. There's gay athletes everywhere. But I was clearly wrong. It was a huge deal.