Sam comes out and breaks another barrier

Almost universal praise greeted a top NFL prospect’s announcement on Sunday night that he was gay, marking him out as a barrier-breaker in the conservative sport.

But there wasn’t quite the same support at the all-important executive level, where Michael Sam will hope to convince team officials that his talent will outweigh his place in history.

The defensive star at the University of Missouri came out to his team-mates last summer but fended off the efforts of local media until a well-crafted telling of his story to The New York Times and ESPN, assuring maximum publicity at an opportune moment, giving the story plenty of time to settle before the recruitment business swings back into gear at the end of the month.