The Internet exploded when Michael Sam, an All-American defensive lineman from the University of Missouri, announced that he was gay. He broke the news to ESPN. The announcement quickly became a trending topic because Sam could possibly become the NFL's first openly gay star, if he's drafted in May.
"I am an openly, proud gay man," he said adding that his teammates and coaches have known since August. "I understand how big this is. It's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be... I want to be a football player in the NFL."
Sam's announcement was praised by many but also shed light and re-opened up similar issues on the topic of homosexuality. Shortly after ESPN published the article, DJ Vlad released a video interview of rapper T-Pain speaking about homosexuality in the hip-hop community, Entertainment Weekly reports.
T-Pain said that he knows rappers in the industry who refuse to work with Frank Ocean because of his sexuality.
"I think the radio is getting more gay-friendly," he said. "I don't think urban music is getting more gay-friendly because if that was the case, Frank Ocean would be on a lot more songs. I know n***s that will not do a song with Frank Ocean just because he gay, but they need him on the f***ing song and that's so terrible to me, man."
Ocean came out the closet in 2012 in a Tumblr blog post when he revealed that his first love was a man.
"4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide," he wrote ending with "I don't have any secrets I need to keep anymore... I feel like a free man."
