Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp, right, and newly-signed defensive end Michael Sam pose for a photo at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday, May 26, 2015.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
On the whole, he'd rather be just another CFL rookie.
That's not possible – not yet – which is one of the reasons Michael Sam came here in the first place.
Run-of-the-mill first-year players don't get introduced at news conferences that include schlubby sports writers, out-of-town media personalities, national news reporters, community activists and media outlets that specialize in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
Sam is a pro football player, yes. He is also the first openly gay one to have worn an NFL jersey, which makes him a symbol.
Whereas other attendees of the Montreal Alouettes' rookie camp wandered the international arrivals concourse at Montréal-Trudeau airport or sauntered through the airport hotel lobby, Sam was on a podium in a capacious meeting room.
Als general manager Jim Popp started by described his new defensive end as a trailblazing athlete in a city that has a history of such things, saying Sam's arrival "is another chapter in that book."
This is what Sam said in response to the first question from the floor, which was about comparisons to pioneering baseball player Jackie Robinson, who also got his professional start in Montreal: "I'm just here to play football. I'm not trying to really do anything historic with the Montreal Alouettes. … I'm just trying to help the team win games."
Most rookies are asked first and foremost about the position they play or adapting to the Canadian game, and Sam was asked all that.
He may have referenced his simple desire to "rush the quarterback" 25 times, but this news conference was about more than pigskin.
"This is a great step forward. … We're extremely happy now to have a LGBT athlete in a 'macho' sport," said Montréal Pride vice-president Jean-Sébastien Boudreault, who attended the event.
The thing that struck Boudreault about Sam's remarks was the way he casually slid in a comment about his fiancé not liking cold weather.
"He wasn't making a point. It's how it should be," Boudreault said. "The hope is for it to become commonplace."
The sentiment was echoed by Popp, who said of players' sexual orientation that "there will come a day when it's never discussed."
The silver-haired GM may seem like an unlikely advocate for equality. Popp's drawl betrays his North Carolina roots, and he is a football man through and through – his father was a long-time NFL and CFL coach and scout – a guy from a red state working in a red-state sport.
"I'm not a red-state guy, though," he said.
The father of six said he was raised to treat everyone equally, and his family has liberal political bona fides – his sister was an assistant U.S. attorney under former president Bill Clinton.
Sam was asked whether opponents or teammates have ever remarked on his personal life. He said no.
When it was put to him that it might be helpful to have a support network or other resources to lean on in case that happens, he smiled and said he couldn't imagine it would be an issue and that, in any case, "I'm a big boy."
While Tuesday was Sam's second time in Canada, he allowed that he did a little research on the city that will be his home for the next five or so months.
"It's good to know I'll be in a city that welcomes me," he said. His message to other athletes in his situation: Never worry about being ostracized, because "I'm your family."
Most of the questions directed at Sam touched on one aspect or another of his decision to come out last year. "I have no regrets whatsoever," he said.
At one point, a Toronto-based sports columnist jokingly apologized for asking a football question.
And there are football reasons for Sam to be in town. The Als have several pass rushers in the mix, but Sam's pedigree suggests he could quickly become a key cog in the team's defensive line.
Though he put in an underwhelming performance in the recent NFL veterans' combine – the headline number was a pedestrian 5.1 seconds in the 40-yard dash – Sam said he's ready to demonstrate that what he learned in brief stints with the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys last year can make him a force in the Canadian Football League.
"If I have to run 40 yards, that's not very good defence," he said.
Popp said Sam's ability to "turn the corner and bend the shoulder" and out-muscle opposing linemen while nearly parallel to the ground is what separates him from others at the position.
"You can't teach to everybody. He has it," he said.
Now it will be up to Sam to show it on a practice field. The Alouettes' training camp opens in Lennoxville, Que., in a few days' time.
At the end of the news conference, Sam was asked whether it rankled to have to answer so many questions about his life away from the sport and about his status as a hero to other gay and lesbian athletes.
"I'm used to it by now," he said with a smile. "It's like second nature to me."