Michael Sam came out publicly as a gay man last week. The responses-- as well as the stories of the initial reaction at Missouri-- have been hearteningly supportive. But there will be obstacles, both from the old-school itchiness that still inhabits some of the NFL, and from plainly hateful people. The latter is the issue this weekend, as the unabashed hate-spewing misanthropes of the Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to demonstrate on the Missouri campus Saturday afternoon.

Mizzou students wouldn't have it. Taking their cue from Texas A&M's response to a similar encroachment by the WBC years back, students Alix Carruth and Kelaney Lakers organized a human wall to "Stand With Sam" and prevent the WBC from entering. It's impressive:

Pretty cool how many people came out to support Michael Sam #FuckWestbroBaptistChurch #StandWithSam pic.twitter.com/b2wuKyAaE5 — Jacob Farkas (@HighFiveFarkas) February 15, 2014

#StandWithSam supporters sang the alma mater with their backs to the WBC. @CoMissourian pic.twitter.com/zQh7mXKXtH — Brandon Foster (@BFoster91) February 15, 2014

.@Mizzou prepares for westboro baptist church and doesn't support hate on campus #StandWithSam pic.twitter.com/whFu1CVUp9 — Alexander Drößler (@AlexDroessler) February 15, 2014

Missouri football player Max Copeland out to support the #StandWithSam event on Stadium Blvd. @CoMissourian pic.twitter.com/oLD18pnEaG — Brandon Foster (@BFoster91) February 15, 2014

Hundreds of students lined up on Stadium Boulevard in support of Michael Sam 🐯 #StandWithSam #OneMizzou pic.twitter.com/LIsAf87tud — Emily Orvos (@EmOrvos) February 15, 2014

Wonderful stuff, Tigers

• Exclusive behind-the-scenes story of Michael Sam's decision to come out as gay

• Michael Sam vs. the NFL Draft machine

• NFL players ready for openly gay player | Teams publicly support Michael Sam

• Evaluating Michael Sam on the field | Mizzou's outstanding D-line tradition

• Spencer Hall: Total strangers talking about Michael Sam

• David Roth: Michael Sam, a normal football player

• Totally serious questions about gay teammates | Inside the Mizzouminati