Michael Sam’s dad driven to drinking by son’s announcement

Perhaps nobody took the news of Michael Sam’s announcement that he is gay worse than the football player’s own father.

The New York Times posted a follow-up piece Tuesday to their Sunday article in which Sam, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, revealed that he is gay. In the follow-up article, The Times says Sam didn’t even tell his own parents about his sexual orientation until a few days before the article came out.

From The Times article:

Last Tuesday, Michael Sam Sr. was at a Denny’s near his home outside Dallas to celebrate his birthday when his son sent him a text message.

Dad, I’m gay, he wrote.

The party stopped cold. “I couldn’t eat no more, so I went to Applebee’s to have drinks,” Sam Sr. said. “I don’t want my grandkids raised in that kind of environment.

Michael Sam Sr. also apparently shared with The Times that he is such a staunch advocate of heterosexuality that he took his older son to Mexico to lose his virginity. That sounds to me like he got his son a prostitute for his first, which is pretty disturbing to me. But to each his own, I guess.

Though Sam Sr. is struggling with his son’s revelation, he says he does love his son and hopes he makes it in the NFL. He did, however, supposedly add that the late Deacon Jones is “turning over in his grave” over Sam’s announcement.

Given the way his father reacted, it’s no surprise to hear that Sam says he is closer with his friends than his family. He told The Times that he stays with friends when he returns home to Hitchcock, which is about 40 miles southeast of Houston. Hopefully this will wear off over time and his dad will grow to accept him more.