and in a recent interview with the nfl network jonathan vilma said this about the prospect of havingi think that he would not be accepted as -- as much as we think he would be accepted. i don't want people to just naturally assume like oh, we're all homophobic. it's really not the case. i imagine if he's the guy next to me and, you know, i get dressed naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me. how am i supposed to respond? >> how prepared do you think you are for what that locker room experience will be like? >> it's a workplace. it's a business workplace. and we have to act professional. and i mean, i know that i am not -- i've never been attracted to my teammates because i don't want that problem. >> reporter: if sam seems unconcerned about the whole thing, it may help to know a little about the obstacles he's already had to overcome. >> there were some hardships. there was some tragedy and some adversity. telling the world i'm gay is nothing compared to that. >> reporter: sam grew up in hitchcock, texas, a small town outside galveston. and to sa

asked about afghani a gay teammate, this is what he had to say: >> what did michael sam think of jonathan vilma's comments, and is he concerned that would be the case in several locker rooms, and not just vilma and the saints. >> let me just say this:is he we knew that question was coming. michael and the gang all talked it through, and we're prepared. the first thing he said was he was openly gay in the locker room in missouri, there was no problem. number two, if you've ever been in a division one locker room if you'rafter a game, there's men running around, there's women, pr people, boosters, coaches, it is a workplace. it is opposite of a sexually charged workplace. it is the culture. and. works against gay men are sexual predators. why african-americans and whites could not serve together. blacks and whites were not going to shower together, things like that. to me its just a very naive homophobic remark. by the way, they have been showering with gay men. they may not be open, but that's the reality of the world. firemen, policemen all over this country are showering with gay men. there has

so joining us now only on "ac360" is jonathan vilma. he was talking about being looked at in the shower. thank you so much for joining us. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> so less than two weeks ago, this was before michael sam's announcement, you said that a gay player would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted. why not? >> right. well, i think that you have a gay player as michael sam who has come out. and he has done a tremendous job. it says a lot about his character and who he is as a person. it's a simple change. people are resistant to change at times. and it's not just as simple as coming into a locker room. so my words, it was a poor illustration of the example i was trying to give on the context. i do apologize for that. i was trying to explain that whenever you have change into something that has been set in stone for so long or something that has been going for so long that change always comes with a little resistant. it was a poor choice of an example i used. i do apologize for that. i was tr

how common are those we heard from jonathan vilma we heard tonight?vironment do you think michael sam is going to be walking into? >> we're definitely living in different times. you know, back when i came out, back in, you know, 1991, it was definitely a digit story. in the last decade we've come a long way. we still have baby steps to go forward. i really do believe that michael will be accepted and will be welcomed into the nfl. all because of -- let's face it here. i mean, this is what we've been waiting for, right? this is what -- we wanted a superstar collegiate athlete or nfl star to come out. we got the superstar collegiate athlete coming out. let me tell you, i'm very excited and the way he did it and i'm very excited to see what the future has in store for him. >> yeah, i mean, mike, it strikes me as pretty amazing thing to do this on the eve of the draft. i mean, to basically be like, hey, guys, this is what it is. and, like, it's on you if you want to be a bunch of bigoted jerks and, like, drop me down in the draft because he just put his c

but in a recent interview, all pro linebacker jonathan vilma left no doubt that a gay player will be a culture shock in imagine if he's the guy next to me and, you know, i get dressed naked, taking a shower the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me. >> reporter: last year pro- basketball player jason collins came out but he was an unsigned free agent near the end of his career and no n.b.a. team picked him up. if sam makes an n.f.l. roster, he would be the first publicly gay active player going to come from this. >> pelley: james brown joins us now. james, you've been talking to your sources all over the league today. what are they saying? >> scott, in conversations i had today with current players and highly regarded ex-coaches the reaction does indeed run the gamut. michael sam's reception will depend on the team that selects. a team with younger front office and younger players like the superbowl champion seattle sea hawks could be more welcoming. but the biggest concern that n.f.l. team officials is that we in the media-- because interest is high and scrutiny will be

it's time that everyone is saying the same thing except for jonathan vilma who said a week ago that shows of the homophobia that exists. >> right, right, the assault seahawks malcolm smith tweeted, there is no room for bigotry in american sports. it takes courage to change the cull. >> now, and the carolina panthers tweeted, i could care less about a man's sexual preference. i care about winning games and being respectful in the locker room. that's what everybody cares about, the more you win, the more money everybody earns. >> beyond a few major sports there are only a handful of openly gay players. jonathan betz breaks it down for us. >> it's a big announcement because few have walked this path that michael sam faces. the first professional complete to come out happened in 1975 soon after he retired from the nfl. silver others followed over the years but none have come out while still playing a major american sport. even basketball player jason collins came out towards the end of his career. he hopes to play but still has no team. garrett thomas, a well-known athlete. in 2009, he told t

now joining us is jonathan vilma. thank you for joining us. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> less than two weeks ago, this was before michael samm's announcement, you said a gay player would not be accepted as much as he would think he would be accepted. why not? >> right. >> well, i think you have a gay player as michael samm who has come out, and he's done a tremendous job, it says a lot about his character and who he is as a person. it's a simple change, people are resistant to change at times. and it's not just as simple as comes into the locker room, so my words, it was a poor illustration of the example i was trying to give out of context. so i do apologize for that. i was trying to explain that whenever you have change into something that's been set in stone for so long, or you've had something that's been going for so long, that change always comes with a little resistance. and it was a poor choice of an example that i used, i do apologize for that. but someone like michael samm, who is extremely confident and a powerful ma

jonathan vilma spoke to this most recently.e a listen. >>> i don't want people to naturally assume we're homophobic, it's not the case. i imagine if he's next to me and i get dressed naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and just so happened he looks at me, how am i supposed to respond? >> when it comes -- >> how am i supposed to respond? >> team sports, this is the main concern. this is why you'll see teams saying we don't want to take this on. we don't want to have older players say we are concerned about this. that's something the nfl doesn't want to deal with either. interesting to see where it goes from here. >> when you watch the reception here, it's like being in a time capsule back 20 years or a15 years to where america's dealt with this. gary gates tried to figure out how many people are gay in america, not an easy thing to measure but estimates it's around 3%, 4%, from what people self-report. when you ask americans how many people are gay, over half think it's 20%, okay, not 3, not 5, not 7%. 20%. that's a very int

saints linebacker jonathan vilma talked about the prospect of a gay teammate. >> i think that he would be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted. i imagine if he's the guy next to me and, you know, i get dressed naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me, how am i supposed to respond? >> reporter: former vikings punter chris kluwe says he thinks it cost him his job. >> i think there are players that are reluctant to come out. i think it's something that's changing with time. >> reporter: michael sam could test the league. his credentials include first-team all-america, s.e.c. defensive player of the year and team mvp. but a spot in the nfl is not guaranteed. >> you talk about a very good player. but you can't be naive, and i'm sure there are some teams who are very high on him, who at this very moment are kind of weighing, do we really need this? >> reporter: sam says it's what he does on the field that should matter. but he knows coming out could be a game changer. >> i probably will be the first, but i won't be the last. i think only good

. >> wade, since linebacker jonathan vilma noticed that change comes with a little bit of resistancel the majority of players embrace sam or do you think they'll push him away? >> i think similar to what happened when michael sam was at missouri that he'll be embraced. he'll be embraced just like any other player would be. he'll be teased. he'll be made fun of. he'll be one of the guys. but he'll be evaluated mostly on his ability to sack the quarterback. >> selena, the miami dolphins' jonathan martin left the team in 2013 because of bullying. also reports of anti-gay slurs being tossed around the nfl. is there a culture of masculinity where sam will not be accepted, especially around the locker room? >> i think the dolphins situation was more of aberration than it is the rule. most of the teams that will consider michael sam have veteran leadership in the locker room. they accept guys for different religious backgrounds, race, different backgrounds, whether they're rich or poor. i think he will find a good family in the nfl and do quite well. >> wade, the nfl released the following