One Direction News: Harry Styles Wears Michael Sam Jersey During Concert; Is He a Fan?

This is definitely one of those times Michael Sam will remember detail by detail because, amid all the ruckus, Harry Styles, in a gesture seen by thousands, pledged support for him.

Harry Styles of One Direction, arguably one of the most influential teen sensations of today, threw on the football player's No. 96 jersey during a One Direction concert in St. Louis, Missouri, on Aug. 27, TMZ reported.

Styles wore the St. Louis Rams jersey at Edward Jones Dome where the Rams play, it added, in what could be a highlight for Sam after surviving the twin blows of a shower room controversy and the first round of cuts at the National Football League. 

Sam earned insults when he came out, becoming the first openly gay man drafted into the NFL, said Huffington Post, adding that Style's move was in time for the athlete's successful bid to pass the roster cuts, per GLAAD officials.

That stunt did catch the Rams' attention, per this tweet accompanied by a photo of the One Direction star pointing out the Sam name across the back of his shirt. 

It also reached the intended target, with Sam tweeting his sentiment: "@Harry_Styles thank you for your support!!! #RamNation." The reaction has more than 6,000 retweets and almost the same number of likes as of press time.

ESPN recently reported that Sam had a different showering habit at the St. Louis Rams training camp, Deadspin said, explaining that the athlete was not willing to join his teammates as they took a bath at the locker room.

The report noted that the unwelcome observaton caught flak from Rams coach Jeff Fisher and said that it was justifiable that Sam did not go to the shower room with his straight teammates considering how the others would feel seeing him around.

ESPN already issued an apology saying: "ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly on Tuesday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports."  

Styles has been championing the rights of the LGBT community, Huffington Post said, noting that the singer recorded a video greeting the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard on its 40th birthday.

Meanwhile, TMZ noted that bandmate Liam Payne supported the "Duck Dynasty" guys when they announced that they were against gay marriage.