Great things 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.

I'm unemployed, and I don't believe I'm out of the NFL because I'm gay, but if it was a reason, it can hurt their livelihood, and you don't want to take that chance.

Great things happen when you have the courage to be yourself

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.

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.

I'm not afraid of who I am. I'm not afraid to tell the world who I am. I'm Michael Sam, I'm a college graduate, I'm African-American and I'm gay.