Following on a rumor last week that a San Francisco 49er was set to the come out of the closet very soon, quarterback Colin Kaepernick just made a public statement saying he and the rest of his team would be totally cool with recently out college player Michael Sam, or any other gay player, being on the team.
Kaepernick was giving a joint interview alongside rival Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, and speaking to ESPN's Michele Steele he said, in regards to whether Sam would be welcomed on the 49ers, "I think when he steps into that locker room, everyone’s going to know that he’s there to help us win games. And that’s why you’re in the NFL, to help us win games. No one cares if you’re black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. That's your job. That's your occupation."
Kaepernick's statement also follows on one last week from team owner Jed York regarding some earlier homophobic statements by Chris Culliver. York said, "If he does it again, crucify him."
Michael Sam is taking part in this week's Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and assuming he's drafted he will become the first openly gay player in the NFL unless an existing member of the 49ers comes out first.
There's still no word on whether that rumor has any legs. The site Media Take Out reported last week that a "top member of the 49ers team will come out the closet as gay," and that he had already spoken with higher ups about it. This of course fueled rumors that it could be the handsome Kaepernick himself, who was allegedly recently hanging out with a gay circuit DJ. But we shall see.
