NFL Players Association president Domonique Foxworth has expressed his belief that Michael Sam will have a positive impact on whichever team he joins.
Sam's announcement that he is gay brought with it questions over how his fellow players would react to having him as a teammate, given that there has never been an openly gay footballer in the NFL before.
However, Foxworth believes that the 24-year-old's presence will bond whichever team he joins in the Draft as they look to defend him from any unsavoury treatment from opposition fans or players.
Foxworth used the past season at the Missouri Tigers as an example of his point, with Sam being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year having informed his teammates that he is gay before the campaign began.
"The team's gonna build up around their teammate, and it's going to galvanize the team. Everyone's talking about how this could disrupt the locker room. Some NFL locker rooms need disrupting, to be frank," Foxworth told ESPN.
"Coaches go through a lot of different things to try to build a bond between the team, and what's going to build a bond more than having a player that all the guys know is kind of a target for opposing fans and maybe a target for opposing players?
"That type of stuff is what makes you build up around a guy, and Missouri seemed to have a pretty good season. So I expect whatever team he goes to is not going to be adversely affected. If anything, they could be positively affected by adding a man like that."
Sam, who is projected to be chosen between the third and fifth rounds in May's Draft, led the SEC with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss last season.
Barney Corkhill
