There will always be haters. Small heroes can change society every day. It just takes time.
My family was very notorious in the town that we lived in. Everyone would say, 'There goes those damn Sams.' I didn't want to paint that ill picture of me. I knew the good in my family. They didn't know our background and the adversity we had to endure. I wanted to succeed and be a beacon of hope in my family.
I'll say this: I want to become a distraction! And what I mean is by making big plays and doing good stuff on the field. Although nobody would print that, because that's not a story. Gotta keep bringing up the locker-room situation because he's gay.
I needed football - it was just something to do, an excuse to not be at home.
I knew from a young age that I was attracted to guys. I didn't know if it was a phase... I didn't want to say, 'Hey, I might be gay. I might be bi.' I just didn't know... I wanted to find who I was and make sure I knew what was comfortable. So I didn't tell anyone growing up.
To see hundreds of people come out in the cold at the University of Missouri to block a few so-called Christians who came to protest against me shows you how love conquers hate.
If I want to kiss my boyfriend, I'm gonna kiss him. If they want to film it, that's their problem. Don't be mad at me for sharing a huge moment in my life with someone I love.