Michael Sam declines invitation to White House dinner

When he came out as openly gay, former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam made it a point to say that he did not want to be an activist for gay rights. He made that even clearer recently when he declined an invitation to appear at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, according to his publicist, Howard Bragman.

"“We respectfully declined,” Bragman told USA Today. “As much fun as I would have had and he would have had going, it sends the wrong message. If he gets on a team and plays well, he’ll probably be invited next year. I don’t want people to think that he’s interested in anything other than getting ready for the draft.”"

This was a good move as it reaffirms that Sam is dedicated to becoming the best NFL player that he possibly could be. After a poor showing at this past NFL Scouting Combine, the pressure is hotter than ever on Sam to show that he’s 100% committed to the game of football.

Declining an invitation to mingle with some of Washington D.C.’s most powerful people is a great way to go about that.