Missouri defensive end Michael Sam is poised to be the first openly gay player in NFL history. Former NFL cornerback Deion Sanders says that he might be the first openly gay NFL player, but there were gay players on every team he ever played for.
From TMZ Sports:
"Deion was on the “Arsenio Hall” show last night when the topic turned to Michael Sam — the first openly gay NFL prospect.“He’s not the first gay guy in the NFL,” Sanders said … “He’s the first one to come out.”“Every team I played on … I think I played on 5 different teams … there was someone gay in the locker room.”Deion says he and his teammates always knew who the gay players were and only judged that person based on football ability."
Considering how many teams Sanders played on that is a pretty incredible claim, but the law of averages suggest that’d be true. It is also interesting that he specifically addresses the NFL, cause all in all Sanders has played on 10 teams in two leagues.