Michael Sam regrets coming out publicly: 'If I had it my way, I never would have done it the way I did'

The sportsman made history earlier this year, when he signed to the St Louis Rams and came out officially in the New York Times in February

Michael Sam revealed his sexuality on ESPN's Outside the Lines show

Michael Sam, the world’s first publicly gay NFL player, said he would “never” have come out in the way he did if he had the chance to do it again.

The sportsman made history earlier this year, when he signed to the St Louis Rams and out officially in the New York Times in February.

Sadly, he was axed from the Rams squad in August, joined and was dropped from the Dallas Cowboys 10-man practice squad shortly afterwards, and is yet to play an on-season game.

“If I had it my way, I never would have done it the way I did, never would have told it the way I did,” he told GQ magazine, of which he was recently titled their Man of the Year 2014.

“I would have done the same thing I did at Mizzou - which was to tell my team and my coaches and leave it at that.

“But the recruiters knew, and reporters knew, and they talked to each other, and it got out. If I didn’t have the year I did, nobody would have cared.

“But I have no regrets. Some people can argue that I had the potential to go higher in the draft. But I think everything happens for a reason.

“In St. Louis, they welcomed me, but I felt they were just putting smiles on their faces.

“It was because they didn’t know my future. It was almost like the situation with a stray dog - you don’t want to get too close. In Dallas, they were more welcoming.”

“Did I think it was gonna be that huge? No. I thought people would be just, ‘Okay, he came out’,” he said of how people reacted to his announcement. “And that would be that. Some thought others would join me. I did, too.”