NFL star: Openly gay player Michael Sam was a 'publicity stunt'

An American football player has claimed that openly gay player Michael Sam only got drafted in the sport as a "publicity stunt".

Sam – who has had brief spells with the St Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys – made history as the first openly gay NFL player, though he is yet to play an on-season game.

He got engaged to partner Vito Cammisano in January , and recently appeared on Dancing with the Stars .

However, Jacksonville Jaguars player Sen'Derrick Marks dismissed Michael Sam's drafting as a 'publicity stunt', while commenting on reports that NFL plans to introduce a female referee.

He told TMZ of Sarah Thomas, tipped to be the sport's first female ref: "Ain't nothing wrong with it, especially as long as she knows what she's doing.

"It's just like the Michael Sam situation - if he wasn't gay, he would have gone undrafted.

"Instead, the league drafts him because I think they are trying to monopolize every aspect of the world..the same thing with a female ref.

"For the league, it's great publicity. The NFL is all about monopolizing every opportunity."

While playing at University, Sam was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year - and had in fact originally been tipped to be drafted by a big team before he came out.

However, his brief spells with the Rams and Cowboys resulted in extreme press scrutiny - and the player is currently teamless.

Sam isn't squandering his time away from the pitch, however - a recent exchange with paparazzi showed the player has picked up an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Game of Thrones series.