Michael Sam Says Other Closeted NFL Players ‘Reached Out’ to Him

Michael Sam tells Oprah Winfrey that other gay NFL players “reached out” after he decided to come out as gay.

The athlete, who in May became the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL, opens up in his first television interview since he was cut from the St. Louis Rams and waived from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. He wouldn’t specify how many closeted players contacted him.

“They were thankful that I had the courage … they wished that they had the courage to come out,” Sam says. “There’s a lot of us out there. I’m not the only one. I’m just the only one who’s open.”

The interview airs Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET on the Oprah Winfrey Network after the 9 p.m. ET premiere of documentary about him.

[OWN]