Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Via the Randy Report:
Preceded by a moving backstory video and followed by an emotional acceptance speech, St. Louis Rams’ Michael Sam was honored at the 2014 ESPY Awards with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The video package and acceptance speech were perfect for the heroic Michael Sam. The sports world and the LGBT community could not be more proud that this is the journey and story a life can take when a true athlete faces his challenges. From his speech tonight at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles: “This year I had a lot of experience being part of something bigger than myself. At times, I felt like I’d been living in a massive storm, … but the lessons learned — love, respect and being true to yourself — will never leave me.”
More from USA Today:
Michael Sam delivered an incredibly powerful speech after accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2014 ESPYs on Wednesday night. There weren’t many dry eyes in the room following the words of Sam, who was honored for his decision to publicly come out and become the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. Sam emotionally quoted Ashe’s words of wisdom, that included: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have and Do What You Can. “Those were words to live by,” Sam said. “Whether you’re white or black. Young or old. Straight or gay.” Sam fought back tears on stage, and he ended his speech by telling the story of a gay woman who told him she never again consider committing suicide after he came out as gay.