Michael Sam finds the perfect landing place in St. Louis

IN ST. LOUIS, Michael Sam might have found the perfect spot to pursue an NFL career and try to become the league's first openly gay player.

He'll have three former Missouri teammates with him on the Rams, including fellow draft pick E.J. Gaines. Sam will be playing for a team with many fans who rooted for him when he was in college, and supported him when he publicly came out. And in coach Jeff Fisher, he'll be playing for someone who didn't shy away from being part of NFL history.

Maybe more than any other place in the NFL, Sam will be allowed to concentrate on playing football and making the team, which is no guarantee for a seventh-round draft choice.

"I think Michael and his entire team feel he went to what was ultimately the right stage and the right place, with the right coach and the right system," said Howard Bragman, a public relations expert who has been working with Sam. "Any rookie already has pressure and Michael has added pressure."

Sam was picked by St. Louis near the end of the seventh round Saturday, with the 249th overall pick.

He'll join former Missouri players T.J. Moe, a receiver, and Tim Barnes, a center, along with Gaines, when the Rams start preparing for the 2014 season.

"I'll certainly do my best to make him feel right at home," Moe said. "It's a much bigger deal to the media than it is to the players. Here it's all about football."

An NFL.com writer was in the Rams' draft room and reported late Saturday night that Fisher unexpectedly suggested taking Sam, a player the team had not given much consideration to before.

"We're in an age of diversity. Players understand that, they know that," Fisher said. "People will try to make it a distraction but it's not a distraction."

Wade Davis, who is gay and came out publicly well after his playing days, was in training camp with the Tennessee Titans twice when Fisher was their coach.

"As someone who played for coach Fisher, Michael Sam couldn't be going to a better place," said Davis, who is now the executive director of the You Can Play Project, an advocacy group that works to take homophobia out of sports.

Davis said that while Sam is breaking new ground as an openly gay athlete entering a major male professional sports league, he won't be the first gay athlete whose teammates knew he was gay. Davis added that the bond and intimacy that comes from being a teammate, and the hard work it requires, makes pro sports a better place than most to integrate a gay co-worker.

"I'm a firm believer that sports teams, unlike any other job, are more accepting of differences because you put them aside to pursue a common goal," David said.

Sam came out to his teammates and coaches before the Tigers' 2013 season. They went on to play in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Sam was the conference's defensive player of the year.

At Missouri, students and the Columbia community rallied around Sam after he came out. In February, Sam and the rest of the football team were honored at halftime of a Missouri basketball game. An anti-gay group held a protest outside the arena. Fans and students surrounded the arena, many wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Stand With Sam" on them, to ensure the protesters didn't get too close.

Columbia is about 2 hours from St. Louis, halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City. There is plenty of overlap between Missouri fans and Rams fans.

"The media knows him and has protected him in the past," Bragman said. "He feels perfectly comfortable, with a support system in place. That's huge."

The NFL welcome wasn't unanimous. A negative one-word tweet from Miami safety Don Jones drew a rebuke from the Dolphins. Shortly after the Rams selected Sam, Jones tweeted, "Horrible." The tweet was taken down a short time later. After the draft, Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey said he was made aware of Jones' tweet.

"I was disappointed in those comments," Hickey said. "We're going to sit down with Don Jones and address [the tweet] appropriately."

* Villanova defensive end Rakim Cox signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings. A four-year starter, Cox (6-4, 270) collected 30 tackles, a team-high nine sacks, a team-best 11 1/2 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and a forced fumble. He was tied for 12th in the nation in sacks per game. Cox earned first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors for the second straight year.