Michael Young: 'I guarantee you I've had a gay teammate'

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Former Rangers star Michael Young, who officially retired back in January, said Monday that major-league clubhouses would be willing to embrace an openly gay player, and added that he probably had a gay teammate throughout the course of his 14-year career, reports ESPN's Richard Durrett.

Related: NFL prospect Michael Sam reveals he is gay

Young, a seven-time All-Star, also professed his admiration for NFL prospect Michael Sam, who announced on Sunday that he is gay. Though Young never suspected any of his teammates of being gay, he's confident there's been at least one.

"No, I haven't, but I guarantee you I've had a gay teammate," Young told ESPN 103.3 FM. "This may be the first openly gay player in the NFL, but clearly we know there have been tons in every sport -- male, female, there have been tons in every sport.

"We just don't know about them or who they are. They're out there right now. They're out there in the NBA, in the NHL, in the big leagues and in the NFL. Hopefully players are just comfortable being themselves."

Often lauded for his professionalism, Young was quick to suggest that a team of professionals should be able to assess a prospective teammate on relevant criteria -- skill and character, for instance -- and not sexual orientation.

"If a college program can pull it off, you'd like to think a bunch of paid professionals can do the same," Young said. "For me, it comes down to, 'Can this guy help us win? Is he a winning piece? Can he execute on the field and be a good teammate in the locker room?' I'd like to think it wouldn't be an issue at all, and all the teams I played on, I know it definitely wouldn't have been an issue.