Michael Sam — the first openly gay football player in the NFL — had a pretty bad night last night. There’s no word of what touched things off, but he got into a verbal fight with another guy at a West Hollywood club. And it nearly escalated into a fist fight.
Unfortunately, details are few. Also unfortunate is the name of the venue where it all took place: Bootsy Bellows. Okay, really, that’s what you’re going to name your nightclub? For real? (It’s named after the burlesque act of one owner’s mother, which is sweet, but good lord it’s hard to take a business seriously with a name like that.)
Michael was hanging out with some friends, apparently, but when they left he started yelling with another guy. “People like f***ing you give our community a bad f***ing name,” he yelled. Oof. What could this guy possibly have done? Does anyone know? Can anyone make an educated guess? There are plenty of things a person could do to give a community a bad name, up to and including starting a fight with a professional football player at a place called “Bootsy Bellows.”
A photo of the incident shows Michael with his arm outstretched, and the other guy with his hand up in an “I’m about to punch you” gesture. A third guy is holding the punching-arm back, seemingly trying to prevent any violence.
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Michael also added that if the other man tried to touch him, “I will find that you tried to attack me and I will lay your ass on the ground.” That does not seem like an idle threat: Michael appears to still be in great shape, and it would be insane to try to pick a physical fight with him.
It’s unfortunate that he’s in the news in this context, but it’s worth pointing out that since taking a break from playing professional football last year, he’s been doing good: a few months ago he helped push back against a discriminator bill in Missouri.
Watch the altercation unfold below, via TMZ:
Xzamilio
Yeah… Michael Sam is a professional football player the way Buzzfeed is respected journalism. He made two teams temporarily and then was carted off to the CFL and then walked away from that. Can we not with the “first openly gay player in the NFL”? Because I’d like to pretend he never happened, because I actually love the sport.
Stache
@Xzamilio: Ball goes this way. Ball goes that way. Never understood it’s appeal at all. Mind you my own brother played football for a University.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Oh look for the first time ever Michael Sams had an interaction with another person from his own race. I guess since it didn’t go well he’ll go back to exclusively chasing anti-black caucasian boys he likes to complain about.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
And ain’t if funny you can’t say certain colors or the word r.a.c.i.s.t with out being censored on here?
David Bolton
@Xzamilio: NFL success or not… he’s got a lot more balls than you do, honey.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Test: White black yellow
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Chartreuse, puce, eau de nil, kumquat, elephant mist
Seems okay to me
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Black
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Try the R word Sams likes to throw and you get.
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robho3
I can’t stand Michael Sams. He is an attention whore. He complains that the reason he wasn’t successful in football so he says he was descriminated against because he’s gay- but really maybe it’s because he wasn’t a good player????
redcarpet30
@Xzamilio: Disclaimer:I don’t follow football and barely understand how it’s played. But we’ll never know how much behind the scenes homophobia played a role in his failures and how much of it was his lack of skill. So he doesn’t deserve total derision.
woodroad34
Bootsy Bellows is on “the Strip”, which means “straight”, while gay WeHo is south by about 3 or 4 blocks. I sort of think this was a straight vs gay thing and the one with the arm raised probably said to Michael, “you give our community a bad name” and Michael just threw it back in his face. I would have loved to have seen Michael throw that other fellow a massive, hurtin’ bitch slap.
Bob LaBlah
Imagine what would have happened in the locker room with an anti-gay player just as big and aggressive as he is. This is why the NFL would prefer that ALL gay players keep their sexual orientation to themselves. Its nothing personal, it just the reality of the situation.
Kangol
@robho3: His name is Michael SAM. There is no “s” on the end. LOL Like “Sam I am.” Etc.
Look, he’s young, he was probably drunk, and he probably got into a little spat. It’s only news because of his fame/notoriety. I hope he’s doing well. His step to come out before being drafted remains a huge, courageous move that no one can ever take away from him. How many of these other DL stunt queens in the NFL have kept silent instead of taking such a brave step?
gentdesign
Can we stop it with the negative press about black guys.
Don Lemmon (CNN Anchor) is doing an amazing job covering the run for President.
Ru Paul’s hit show is breaking barriers on the Nielsen’s Rating front.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
“Can we stop it with the negative press about black guys”
“Don Lemmon (CNN Anchor) is doing an amazing job ..”
Presented without comment
ErikO
@gentdesign: Don Lemon is an idiot his comments and questions certainly are hilarious though. Michael Sam is annoying, mentally ill, and not even that good of a football player.
everybodywinsyay
@redcarpet30: Homophobia had nothing to do with his not making it. His sexuality is the only reason that he got as far as he did. Anyone who knows football will tell you that. He was a social justice warrior first and football player second.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
@gentdesign: No. All you hear from black gays are negative comments about white gays. So it’s going to be a two way street.
myloginname
Which community is he referring to? The Gay community or the African American community or the Gay African American community or is it something else?
dean089
He might want to come up with a better title than “the first openly gay football player in the NFL” since he was only in the NFL for, like, five minutes. Talk about someone milking their ‘fame.’
OzJosh
Since when have gay clubs – or any nightclubs – been expected to have sensible names?!
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
The comments in the TMZ YouTube link are awful.
Xzamilio
@David Bolton: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but stans will never hurt me. Michael Sam went nowhere and had more chances than most men, gay or straight, will never have and he threw them away. So fuck his big balls and the chin they’re resting on (yours).
ErikO
@Xzamilio: LOL, that’s very true that he had way more chances than 99% of people who even try out for the NFL, and he threw them all away. He also apparently played football in Canada but then just stopped going to practice, and quit.
drelocks15
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: Exactly. The black dude must’ve asked Michael Sam out. Big no!
SportGuy
Sam and NFL player in the same sentence is HILARIOUS! He is a sad excuse and he is the embarrassment, but he is too stupid to see that,lol.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
He blackmailed his way in. He had a reality TV show lined up and was going to trash the NFL with false claims of homophobia, so they let him in. Once he was in they cut him, so he couldn’t make the claim. Someone was a pure genius.They hung his dumb ass with the rope he put around his own neck and handed to them.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/03/24/report-nfl-cut-deal-with-rams-to-draft-michael-sam/
Sluggo2007
You can take the boy out of the ghetto, but . . . . . .
DDstar1me
@ IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou …@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Test: White black yellow…LMAO..I’m not sure why I’m finding this so funny today. lol.
crowebobby
He’s always been an incorrigible tomboy!
Franklin
@Sluggo2007: You can take the white robes of the gay man…
Franklin
@Sluggo2007: You can take the white robes off the gay man…
robho3
@Kangol: thank so much for pointing that out are you the spelling police???
Masc Pride
This guy is a walking epic fail.
@SportGuy: He does sound very uneducated whenever he speaks. Awful advertisement for Mizzou. The irony of this gossiping attention wh0re calling someone else an embarrassment is totally hilarious though.
ErikO
Yes Michael Sam does give gay black men and the so called LGBT community a bad name.
batesnight
He’s a good looking guy. Doesn’t seem to be that big of an ‘altercation’. There are people standing around texting on their phones or whatever they’re doing on it. They don’t seem to be that concerned with this alleged ‘altercation’. Nothing to see folks. Keep driving away.
martinbakman
Sounds like the other guy was a bit butt hurt and tried to ruin Sam’s evening.
Surprised at the negative reaction to Sam on here. Bunch of bitter qweenz.