Sam is the 21st recipient of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Courage Award and joins a great legacy of previous winners that includes Muhammad Ali, Pat Tillman, Nelson Mandela and Robin Roberts.
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There wasn’t a dry eye in the house at the ESPYs Wednesday night once trailblazing out athlete Michael Sam took the podium to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Speaking to an audience that included boyfriend Vito Cammisano, Sam delivered an emotional speech about achieving the impossible and embracing diversity.
“To anyone out there, especially young people feeling like they don’t fit in and will never be accepted,” he said, “know this: great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself.”
Sam is the 21st recipient of the prestigious award and joins a great legacy of previous winners that includes Muhammad Ali, Pat Tillman, Nelson Mandela and Robin Roberts.
by Matthew Tharrett
This post originally appeared on Queerty. Reprinted with permission.
When are gays ever going to be equal to straight? I mean that IMO, as long as we continually point out how different they are, they will never be equal. To identify a person being gay, what you’re doing is making that aspect of his/her life as being who they are rather then the “person” who they are. I’ straight but someone looks at me and knows me for who I am as a person, my preference for women has little to do with who I am. I think it’s sad and in so many cases, people lose site of… Read more »