"I hope to contribute however I can" - Michael Sam, former first openly gay NFL player, now joins coaching ranks

The first openly gay player in the NFL, Michael Sam, has announced that he is now a coach with the Barcelona Dragons in the European League.

Michael Sam will be the Dragons' defensive line coach.

“I hope to contribute however I can to help the defensive line to be the best pass rushers in the European league,” Michael Sam said in a team release.

Michael Sam was an All-SEC and All-American player with the University of Missouri. Before the 2014 NFL Draft, Michael Sam announced that he was gay. He was drafted by the then St. Louis Rams in the seventh round.

He would eventually end up on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad that same year before being released.

Sam stepped away from football to concentrate on his mental health back in 2015. Now, at the age of 32, he is making a return to the sport.

Sam coming out as gay opened the doors for other players, not only in the NFL, but other team sports as well. At the time, it wasn't a popular move, and many thought he hurt his draft status because of it.

But that didn't stop Sam from living his best life as an openly gay man in the NFL.

Michael Sam opened the door for other gay NFL players

Kansas City Chiefs v Las Vegas Raiders

Michael Sam being an openly gay football player opened doors for other NFL players like Carl Nassib of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Nassib came out to the public in June of last year. He posted a video and this message on his Instagram account regarding his sexual orientation.

“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate,” before adding that he would donate $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit group that focuses on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth."

Nassib said he had worried about this moment and the reaction for 15 years.

“Sadly, I have agonized over this moment for the last 15 years."

Nassib was grateful to his coaches, teammates and even the NFL for their support. Michael Sam coming out made this possible for Nassib.

While Sam had to deal with the prejudice of others. In the end, his courage made it possible for others to come out.