American footballer Michael Sam, who earlier this year became the first openly gay NFL player in history, has made an emotional speech after he was awarded the ‘Arthur Ashe Courage Award’ at last night ESPY Awards.

Sam was visibly emotional as he talked to the audience about what the award meant to him, saying, “The way I see it, my responsibility at this moment in history is to stand up for everybody out there who wants nothing more than to be themselves openly. Recently, a friend asked me to talk to his sister, a young woman who was considering killing herself rather than accepting and sharing with her loved ones the fact that she’s gay. When we spoke, she told me she would never consider hurting herself and that somehow my example helped her. It’s amazing to think that, by just doing what we can, we can all touch, change and even save lives”.

Watch the full speech below.