Michael Sam could become NFL's 1st openly gay player

Tolerance is about to be tested in the National Football League.

And Michael Sam hopes his ability is all that matters, not his sexual orientation.

Missouri’s All-America defensive end came out to the entire country Sunday night and could become the first openly gay player in America’s most-popular sport.

“I just want to go to the team who drafts me,” Sam told ESPN in an interview that aired Sunday, “because that team knows about me, knows that I’m gay, and also knows that I work hard. That’s the team I want to go to.”

Nobody has ever done this before.

In interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports, Sam said publicly for the first time that he was gay. He said he came out to his teammates and coaches at Missouri in August.

Sam will participate in the NFL combine later this month in Indianapolis and is projected to be a mid-round draft pick in May.

“Hopefully it will be the same like my locker room,” he told ESPN. “It’s a workplace. If you’ve ever been in a Division I or pro locker room, it’s a business place. You want to act professional.”