Sam out ‘to be great’

Openly gay player handles media crush, ready to play football.

Michael Sam sure seems ready for all the attention.

The first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team was confident and engaged Tuesday as he was formally introduced by the Rams in St. Louis, handling questions and scrutiny with aplomb well beyond that of a typical seventh-round fringe prospect.

“I’m determined to be great,” Sam said.

Sam put his arm around coach Jeff Fisher after sharing the podium with other late-round picks, joked that he’d never before heard the term “tweener” and even rose in his chair in mock intimidation of fellow Missouri draftee E.J. Gaines, who’d been asked what the SEC co-defensive player of the year was like as a teammate.

Sam disagreed that his sexuality had been a secret at Missouri (he had come out to his teammates before last season). And he considers himself proof that it need not be a factor.

“It’s OK to be who you are,” Sam said. “It’s OK to be comfortable in your own skin.”

The appearance of perhaps the most famous seventh-round pick in NFL history attracted a massive throng. A half-dozen TV trucks lined a crammed parking lot at Rams Park, an hour before the team’s two first-round picks were due at the podium.

“There’s some energy here,” general manager Les Snead said with a smile between rounds of interviews. “But I don’t think this is a circus. This deserves attention but we’ll get it over and we’ll get towork.”

Sam puts on the pads later in the week when the team holds a rookie minicamp, normally a low-key event also sure to attract outsized attention.

“He has an opportunity now to come in and compete to try to make our team,” Fisher said.

Browns: Cornerback Joe Haden signed a fiveyear, $68 million extension with Cleveland. Haden’s contract runs through the 2019 season and includes $45 million guaranteed, his agent said.

Panthers: Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy, the team’s franchise tag tender, will spend Tuesday night in Mecklenburg (N.C.) County jail as part of a 24-hour cooling off period after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault on a woman and communicating threats.

Jaguars: The teamwas awarded third-year LB Allen Bradford off waivers from the Giants.