Former St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys defensive end Michael Sam definitely will not be voting for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump this November.
TMZ Sports caught up with the current NFL free agent at Bootsy Bellows in Hollywood on Saturday night.
Sam, who became the first openly gay player in the history of the NFL when he was drafted by the Rams back in 2014, didn’t necessarily have positive things to say about the divisive Trump.
The conversation started with the tabloid site asking Sam to respond to comments Trump made about the kiss the former Missouri star laid on his partner after being selected by the Rams back in 2014.
Sam first made sure to note that this was a long time ago, before the reporter claimed that Trump commented on it just recently. That in and of itself is false, as Trump did make some cringe-worthy comments about Sam’s kiss back in 2014. Nothing since.
“We’ve become so politically correct in this country that the country is going to hell — people are afraid to talk,” Trump said at the time. “They’re afraid to express their own thoughts … I’ve heard many people, I’m not even speaking for myself, but I’ve heard many people that thought the display after he was chosen was inappropriate,” Trump said at the time. “And whether or not it was, I don’t know. But it was certainly out there a little bit.”
For his part, Sam told TMZ Sports that he believes those friendly to the LGBT community should vote for Hillary Clinton in November. He then called Trump a word we can’t necessarily use on here (watch the video for that).
Sam is currently a free agent. He hasn’t played a snap of any sorts in the NFL since the summer of 2014. So why is what he says relevant?
Despite his lack of success at a professional level, Sam’s willingness to come out publicly prior to the draft was seen as a game changer of sorts within a NFL community that had represented a machismo culture.
There are people that will point to him down the road should other NFL players decide to come out publicly. When he talks about something regarding LGBT rights, we should listen. When he does so in concert with the upcoming presidential election, it most definitely is relevant.