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Out of the closet and onto the football field

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Scott Cooper
Scott Cooper, left, stood on the Augsburg College home field with his partner Daniel Karvonen on Senior Day, Nov. 9, 2013.
Photo courtesy Scott Cooper

Scott Cooper played football for two years at Augsburg College as an openly gay man. His story wasn't known to the wider public until last week, when the website OutSports.com published a story about him.

The 24-year-old Michigan native first attended Martin Luther College in New Ulm. After leaving that school in 2009 he came out to his family and friends and, after some time off, enrolled at Augsburg in the fall of 2011.

The issue of gay football players gained prominence last weekend, when a former defensive end for Missouri, Michael Sam, came out publicly. Sam's considered a likely candidate to be picked during the National Football League draft in May, which would make him the first openly gay player in the NFL.

The Daily Circuit's Tom Weber talks with Cooper about his time at Augsburg, and about the Michael Sam story.