An emotional Michael Sam accepted his Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY on Wednesday night.

The first openly gay football player gave an emotional speech that brought him to tears. He was drafted by the Rams in the 2014 NFL draft, Time reports.

"This year I had a lot of experience being a part of something bigger than myself. At times I felt like I was part of a massive storm," he said during his speech.

The player also quoted Ashe in his speech saying, "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Those are words to live by, whether you're black or white, young or old, straight or gay." Sam paused at times and became emotional.

He also shared the story about her friend's sister who considered suicide over coming out to her family.

"When we spoke she told me she would never consider hurting herself again and that somehow my example helped her. It's amazing to think that by doing just what we can, we can all touch, change and even save lives," Sam said while fighting back his tears.

For all the young people, Sam advised them to become positive and to know that great things can happen if they find courage in themselves.

In February, Sam admitted that he was gay, an announcement that started a critical analysis among sports analysts and fans, The Guardian reports. But ESPN notes that his teammates and coaches were already aware of the fact before the announcement.

"I understand how big this is. It's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be ... I want to be a football player in the NFL," he said in an interview with ESPN.

He added that he did not realize how many people knew about his preference and that he was afraid that someone would tell others about that. "I want to own my truth. ... No one else should tell my story but me," he said.

Sam told ESPN his realization that his coming out might "engender" various reactions from the football world.

"There will be negativity, negative reactions. I expect that. ... Everyone can say hurtful things and hateful things; I don't let stuff like that distract me. But there are going to be positives. The positives will outweigh the negative," he explained.

His public announcement on his sexuality has indeed gathered reactions from all around the world. ESPN reported that Sam gained more than 18,000 Twitter followers after he admitted he was gay.