Quotes from Michael Sam

My family was very notorious in the town that we lived in. Everyone would say, 'There goes those damn Sams.' I didn't want to paint that ill picture of me. I knew the good in my family. They didn't know our background and the adversity we had to endure. I wanted to succeed and be a beacon of hope in my family.

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.

Great things happen when you have the courage to be yourself

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.

I'll say this: I want to become a distraction! And what I mean is by making big plays and doing good stuff on the field. Although nobody would print that, because that's not a story. Gotta keep bringing up the locker-room situation because he's gay.

I sing because it takes, for a brief second, it takes a little from my past, and just in that moment, I'm just happy and I'm glad to be who I am. That's the reason why.

I didn't even dream of going to college. College was not in my definition. If somebody told me I was going to play for the Missouri Tigers in 2009, I would laugh at them.

There will always be haters. Small heroes can change society every day. It just takes time.

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 knew from a young age that I was attracted to guys. I didn't know if it was a phase... I didn't want to say, 'Hey, I might be gay. I might be bi.' I just didn't know... I wanted to find who I was and make sure I knew what was comfortable. So I didn't tell anyone growing up.

If I want to kiss my boyfriend, I'm gonna kiss him. If they want to film it, that's their problem. Don't be mad at me for sharing a huge moment in my life with someone I love.

To see hundreds of people come out in the cold at the University of Missouri to block a few so-called Christians who came to protest against me shows you how love conquers hate.

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. I'm comfortable in my skin.

I am an openly proud gay man.

To be a great NFL player, you have to know what your opponent is doing, not just opposite your position but what they're doing all over the field. All the contingencies.