As Michael Sam made history by coming out as the first openly out NFL player, he faced both support and criticism. The support of the openly gay athlete completely overwhelmed any negative comments. As Queerty.com reports, Daniel Radcliffe, a British actor renowned for his role in the Harry Potter series spoke in favor of Michael Sam:
I think it’s f****** awesome. It’s fantastic that he’s got a team. It’s horrendous that he slipped to 249 after being the SEC defensive player of the year. People can say whatever they like about his athleticism, or not fitting the bill for certain conditions or whatever, but the fact is no player in the last six years to win that award has been drafted lower than 16th overall, I think. So it’s sad that that was an issue. But I think he’s amazing, frankly. In interviews, at no point does he allow himself to be portrayed as a victim or someone who deserves extra sympathy. He’s brilliant at shutting that down. I think everybody else just hopes he does f****** brilliantly this year, and that there’s [going to be] a list of quarterbacks who got sacked by a gay defensive end.
In response to the negative comments about Michael's famous post-draft kiss with his boyfriend, Radcliffe added:
My favorite comments online were the ones that said, “I don’t mind him being gay, but I don’t want to see him kiss his boyfriend.” Well, you kinda do mind, then. Also, I presume Michael Sam told the world he was gay so that when he was drafted he could do that without having to f****** think about it or hide it. And I think that’s a fantastic thing. Hopefully Michael Sam’s taking the plunge for everyone who will come after him.