Michael Sam’s dad denies ‘grandkids’ comment
By Nick Levine
Michael Sam’s father has claimed he was misquoted by a US newspaper after apparently reacting badly to news that his American football star son is gay.
National Football League (NFL) prospect Michael Sam took the sports world by storm when he came out last Sunday (February 9) and has received considerable support from the media and American football fans.
Howeber, the New York Times reported that the player’s father, Michael Sam Sr., made potentially offensive comments when, while dining at a restaurant the previous Tuesday (February 4), he received a text from his son saying: “Dad, I’m gay.”
“I couldn’t eat no more, so I went to Applebee’s to have drinks,” Michael Sam Sr. is quoting by the newspaper as saying. “I don’t want my grandkids raised in that kind of environment… I’m old-school. I’m a man and a woman type of guy.”
In a new interview with another US newspaper, the Galveston Daily News, Michael Sam Sr. has now insisted: “I did not say anything about my grandkids.”
ESPN reports that Michael Sam Sr. also denies making the “man and woman type of guy” comment, and claims that although much of what he told the New York Times was quoted correctly, certain thoughts were taken out of context.
When contacted by the Galveston Daily News, the New York Times defended itself, insisting it reported Michael Sam Sr.’s comments “accurately and fairly.”
If selected by an NFL team to play in the upcoming season, Michael Sam will become the first openly gay player to compete in any of North America’s four major professional sports leagues – football, baseball, basketball and hockey.