ESPN has named Michael Sam the recipient of the 2014 Arthur Ashe Courage Award and he will be honored on stage at the ESPYS July 16.

ESPN made the announcement Wednesday, one day before the first round of the NFL Draft is set to take place. Sam, a former defensive end for Missouri, was named the SEC defensive player of the year and later came out as a gay man on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"I'm very honored to be presented with the Arthur Ashe award," he told ESPN. "It is about courage.

"You know, I don't think there is anything courageous I did. I look forward to when we can live life in a world when gays don't have to come out in public."

NFL experts agree Sam will not be a first-round pick, but almost no one sees him going undrafted. Some evaluators said the significance of his coming out may even make a team take him in the second or third round. However, most experts predict Sam will be taken somewhere within rounds four through seven.
"I just feel like, you know, because I came out, was the first one to do it - I think I can be a beacon for others, young athletes... who are maybe gay or maybe not," he told EPN. "And I think I could be a beacon for these people - a light that, like, 'Hey, I could be comfortable in my own skin and be like Michael Sam.'"

The native of Hitchcock, Texas will be honored "his courage and honesty that resonates beyond sports." When Sam eventually signs a professional contract, he will be the first openly gay player in the NFL. Before Sam's announcement, NBA veteran center Jason Collins announced publicly he is gay and Robbie Rogers, a pro soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, did as well.

Jim Valvano was the first Arthur Ashe Award recipient in 1993 and Sam will be joining a group including Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Nelson Mandela, Pat Summit and more.

Arthur Ashe died in 1993 of AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion. A tennis star, Ashe created a campaign to raise AIDS awareness the rest of his life from that point.

"Arthur always believed in and practiced leading by example," Ashe's widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe told ESPN. "When Michael Sam announced that he is gay, he courageously stepped forward to engage an issue that still remains a pervasive problem in many professional sports. Michael has displayed true leadership both on and off the field."