Pro Football Hall of Fame member Deion Sanders, an analyst for CBS Sports and the NFL Network. (AP)

When questioned about openly homosexual football player Michael Sam, Pro Football Hall of Famer and CBS Sports analyst Deion Sanders said that gay “could be” a choice and added that, “The God I know don’t make mistakes.”

In a Nov. 7 interview preview on ORA.tv, an online program, host Larry King asked Sanders what he thought about Michael Sam, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams and later released, and then picked for the Dallas Cowboys practice squad and not long thereafter also released.

Sanders, who is also a commentator for the NFL Network, said, “You know what, I reached out to Michael Sam because I have a cousin who’s gay – he’s gay ever since we were kids – and, I’m not saying I condone it but I don’t condemn it. I don’t love what he do but I love him as a man. And I just wanted him [Michael Sam] to understand the burden and the weight that he’s carrying.”

Larry King then said, “You don’t think it’s a choice, though, do you?”

Sanders, nodding his head, said, “It could be.”

King then said, “I don’t know why, who would choose it?”

“Who wouldn’t?” said Sanders, and then added, “Well, we would get into God did this and God did that. The God I know don’t make mistakes.”

Michael Sam, an openly gay professional football player. (AP)

Michael Sam was the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. When that happened in May 2014, President Barack Obama released a statement, saying that he "congratulates Michael Sam, the Rams and the NFL for taking an important step forward today in our Nation's journey," and that "[f]rom the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove every day that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are."

During his football career, Deion Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Ravens. He was with the Cowboys when they won SuperBowl XXX and with the 49ers when they won Super Bowl XXIX.

Sanders was a two-time NFC Champion, two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Over his football career, Sanders had 53 interceptions, 1,331 INT return yeards, and 22 touchdowns.

In addition to professional football, Sanders played nine years, part-time, in Major League Baseball.