Michael Sam: When I first met my boyfriend, he was dressed as a rabbit and throwing up
Openly gay NFL star has opened up about his relationship, revealing he did not get on with his boyfriend when they first met.
In May, the football player shared a kiss on live TV with boyfriend Vito Cammisano after making history with his draft to the St Louis Rams, causing outrage among anti-gay groups.
The pair both went to the University of Missouri, where Cammisano was the star of the swimming team.
Sam told Out magazine: “We didn’t start off as huge fans of each other.”
He recounted first meeting Cammisano him at a lingerie party, where he was dressed as a rabbit and was throwing up.
“I went up to him to ask if he was OK, and he started cursing at me, screaming, ‘Fuck off — do you know who I am?’
“I told him I didn’t care who he was. We didn’t speak again for two years.”
On meeting him again two years later, Sam said: “I could see he was interested… I bought him a couple of drinks, got us tipsy.
“Toward the end of the night, I put my arm around him, and it was over.”
The pair then started dating, though their relationship was initially shrouded in secrecy.
He said: “Everyone knew Vito was gay, so we couldn’t even be seen together. There was a lot of climbing out of windows.
“Vito was really the person who showed me I had to [come out]. I wanted us to be comfortable.”
A planned Oprah Winfrey documentary about Sam’s life was previously shelved to allow him to concentrate on his playing career, and he has had a reduced media presence in recent weeks.
Sales of his jersey were the second highest of all NFL rookie players.
