By Kelsey Rogers, Asst News Editor
Former NFL player Michael Sam addressed students on overcoming adversity as an opener for the Martin Luther King Jr. Winter Convocation on Jan. 21 in Degenstein Theater.
Sam was a defensive end for University of Missouri and was primed for an early-round NFL draft pick in 2014 before coming out as gay during an interview with ESPN, resulting in a last-round pick from the St. Louis Rams. He addressed the adversity that he overcame in his lifetime and said that adversity taught him to hold onto life.
“When things are easy and normal, people live through them casually and naturally,” Sam said. “While those situations create little opportunities to learn from, adversity, however, has taught me to hold onto life and appreciate that life doesn’t end unless you want it to.”
The challenges and obstacles that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced were acknowledged in Sam’s speech. He noted how King was the subject of several violent attacks, threatening phone calls and attacks on his home.
“Just one of these obstacles could discourage anyone not to go on. But it didn’t stop Dr. King because of his resilience,” Sam said. “He believed that equality was bigger than any obstacle thrown at him. The legacy of Dr. King encompassed influential decisions, monumental actions and steadfast progressions of humanitarian rights that reach far beyond the civil rights movement.”
Sam grew up in a large family with nine children, but he said that tragedy hit early with the death of his two older siblings. Shortly after, Sam’s father walked out on their family and in 1998 his other older brother mysteriously disappeared.
“My mother and sisters and I, we lived in fear,” Sam said.
The audience was asked how to escape what Sam described as hell. Sam said that, like King, he had to show great resilience.
“There was a point in my life where I had to say to myself, ‘this is where we can learn from the most,’” he said.
In regard to the current fight for civil rights in the U.S., Sam said there is still work to be done. He said Americans face new strengths and challenges in terms of democracy and that the right to love, to own individual truth and to have a voice are in jeopardy.
“There will come a time in which we all come face [to face] with adversity. The world knows I have had my fair share,” Sam noted. “I have cried more tears than a human body can produce to a point where I had no more tears left. And there may be a time in which you find yourself in the same situation and that’s okay.”
Sam offered advice to any individuals in the auditorium that may be struggling. He said he was with any individuals that fell into dark spirals in their life and felt lost or those that have been mocked, bullied and laughed at. He offered advice on managing emotions and avoiding self-isolation.
“Suppressing your emotions will only make things worse,” Sam stated. “You need to actually fill them and channel that energy to make something positive. That’s why I chose football.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the speech, junior Anna McDermott asked Sam if there was anything he learned from his experience that the LGBT community would need to hear. Sam said that he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness and his father was a Baptist, so he had nobody to talk to.
“There are people that have your back. You need to know that we are in this together fighting the good fight,” Sam responded.
Professor of philosophy Coleen Zoller asked what society could be doing to put pressure on leagues like the NFL who are not open about supporting the LGBT community.
“Be vocal and don’t be silent,” Sam replied. “We need more people like you [allies] to support. We need to spread the word, and the word is love.”
