Must Reads
When it came time for the St. Louis Rams to round out their defensive line in early September, they chose undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks over Michael Sam. Since then Westbrooks has played in only six regular games, registering just five tackles, zero sacks, zero forced fumbles and zero interceptions.
While acknowledging he beat out Sam for that last roster spot, Westbrooks told TMZ that Sam has talent and potential, should be in the NFL and should definitely not be the target of homophobia:
Westbrooks says Sam was a "great teammate" during camp — and they continued their friendship even after Sam was cut.
Which is why Ethan says he got so upset with several Twitter cowards who made homophobic comments to him about Sam on Twitter during camp.
"It got to a point I had to delete the app from my phone and just focus on the game."
It's powerful to hear that Westbrooks was so impacted by the homophobia of strangers pointed at his then-teammate.
It's also reaffirming to hear Westbrooks say Sam definitely has NFL-caliber talent. It's what Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said as well. Sam now waits to see if he can lock up a futures contract with a team.
