Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark has warned Missouri Tigers defensive end Michael Sam that he will need to earn the respect of whichever team he joins in this year's Draft.
Sam will become the first openly gay player in NFL history if he is chosen in the Draft after publicly coming out during a television interview on Sunday.
"If he's willing to put his hand in the pile and be a part of the solution to winning a championship and winning football games, then guys will accept him. The one thing we know about NFL locker room and NFL teams is it's the ultimate team sport and you want that camaraderie, you want that chemistry. I think before he steps into a locker room people will talk to leaders in the locker room, leaders on their team to see how do they plan to accept him as a teammate," Clark told ESPN.
"This is the thing people have to understand about NFL locker rooms: It's a lot of ornery veterans. There's a lot of veterans that don't like talking to rookies. There's a lot of veterans that don't really mingle with guys coming in playing their positions or guys they feel like haven't earned their spots. So we've had situations where there are veterans that don't talk to the young guys or that don't necessarily accept them until they've proven themselves in certain ways.
"I think what we have to be very careful about is making sure that if a guy doesn't come out and say he's in full support just knowing he's not in opposition. Just understanding that for a lot of guys it's going to take some time to get used to that has never been through this situation. For us, it's about being patient with the whole process and allowing the guy to play football."
Sam topped the SEC with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss last season on his way to being named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
Barney Corkhill
