Former SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam has turned in his football pads for the role of a newspaper columnist, at least for a day.

Sam, who has garnered much attention for being the first openly gay player taken in the NFL Draft shortly after winning that award for the SEC East champion Mizzou Tigers in 2013, wrote an op-ed piece for Sunday’s edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune.

His subject matter was Missouri bill SJR 39.

Sam used 416 words to express his opinion about why he believes it is a bad idea for the state of Missouri, and used his status as a former member of the Mizzou Tigers and St. Louis Rams as leverage to make his case with his opening paragraph:

I’m a Missouri athlete, through and through. I played defensive end with Mizzou, I became the first openly gay NFL player with the St. Louis Rams, and I spent years playing with all my heart and soul for this amazing state. I consider it a home. It’s where I learned some of my first lessons about hard work, fairness and inclusion. But today, I’m deeply concerned for its future.

We don’t really have an interest in getting political on this matter, but you can read Sam’s piece in its entirety here.