If you thought Michael Sam was not garnering enough attention, Oprah is about to give you a “real” serving of the first openly gay NFL player. Yep, Michael Sam has teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to document his journey on OWN. The news has been met with mixed responses. Some view it as a momentous event in history, others namely an anonymous player on his team, “The St. Louis Rams” feels it is a distraction. “It’s an interesting case that he gets to work with Oprah and have his own show, but I think it does raise eyebrows and it may be somewhat of a distraction,” the player told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “But this is our first time dealing with something like this, so we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out and how people react.”
The series would be a multi-part documentary and is sure to be another hit for the still fledgling cable network, OWN. Oprah released this statement, “We are honored that Michael is trusting us with his private journey in this moment that has not only made history but will shape it forever,” Winfrey said in a statement. “I am proud of the focus on authentic storytelling in our new documentary series format. The next real-life story we follow in ‘The Untitled Michael Sam Project’ promises to spark valuable, important discussion on life in America today. Acceptance and illumination start here.”
It is definitely a new day, and time, the world is watching to see how Michael Sam will fare. Whereas, there was silent speculation and thundering applause we will now see Mr. Sam in our living rooms–or not. You decide!
Special thanks to Hey Mikey! www.heymikeyatl.com
