Power List 2014: MICHAEL SAM

Football Player, 24

The former Missouri Tigers defensive end and SEC Defensive Player of the Year came out in a New York Times interview, singlehandedly shifting the discussion about gay men in professional sports before ever playing in a pro-level game. By coming out at the beginning of a promising career, when he's a solid prospect, he's forced every player, owner, coach, and sports reporter to take a position on the presence of out players in America's most popular, most macho sport.

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