On Feb. 9 History was made. Missouri defensive end Michael Sam announced in an interview with Chris Connelly for ESPN’s Outside the Lines program that he was, indeed, gay. 

Sam had an excellent season on the field this past year for the Tigers. He recorded 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss and received co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Clearly, he plays football well, and before he announced his sexuality to the world, he was universally projected as a third-to-fourth-round draft pick. 

Since his announcement, many potential storylines have emerged. Will Sam’s open homosexuality affect his draft stock? Will an openly gay player be accepted in an NFL locker room? Will having an openly gay player be a distraction for a football team? These are some of the questions and issues that have been discussed as a result of Sam coming out.

First of all, I would just like to say I respect Sam and thought it was a brave and bold move for him to come out and make this announcement. Nothing positive could come from Sam announcing this at this time, only negative. I do not believe that a player being gay should affect their draft stock, however. Building a roster should be about adding players who fit the style of play you want to have on the field. Sam is a really good pass rush prospect, and pass rushers are one of the most valuable commodities in the league right now. 

Yet, even though I believe his sexual orientation should not affect his stock, I believe it will. The fact of the matter is there simply will be teams that do not want the distraction of having the first openly gay football player in NFL history on the team. There will also be those teams that might fear he would be a problem in the locker room. And then, I also believe, though no team or general manager would dare say so personally, there is at least one owner or GM out there who simply is homophobic and will refuse to pick Sam for that reason alone. 

As far as Sam being accepted in the locker room, I think, for the most part, he will be. Most of the players being asked about it say that having him in the locker room will not be a problem, especially if he plays well and the team he is on wins games. If Sam plays well, hits opposing quarterbacks and makes noise on defense, none of his teammates are going to say, “Well, he’s playing well, but I want him off the team because he’s gay.” I mean, that does not even sound right. 

Now I do believe Sam could be a distraction at first, but long term I do not think he will be a very big distraction. I remember last draft people were concerned that Manti T’eo would be a distraction, and, ultimately, we did not hear anything about the whole fake girlfriend scandal during the season. I think it will be the same way for Sam. I think the media will make a big deal of it when he gets drafted, but once camp starts and the season gets rolling, I think it will be a non-story. 

We are now in the year 2014. There is no reason whatsoever why a person of any race, sexual orientation or gender should feel like he or she cannot do or participate in anything he or she wants. There is nothing wrong with gay people. They should be given the same rights and treated with the same rights as any heterosexual person both in life and in the sports world. 

Many people want to condemn gay people because they believe they made a choice. However, most gay people will tell you that it is not a choice. People do not just wake up one day and decide, “Oh, I think I want to be gay now.” That sounds completely ridiculous when you think about it. So why condemn people for being what they are? 

At the end of the day, if Sam can play football and help a team win, that is all that should matter. Not just with football, but with any sport. It should come down to whether or not the athlete can perform at a high level and nothing more.