Michael Sam, First Openly Gay Player Drafted By NFL Team, Announces He’s

Michael Sam had nearly quit on his teammates and taken two weeks away from their training camp, citing personal reasons.

The Als placed Sam on the team’s suspended list after his Friday announcement, retaining his rights should he return to the CFL.

Then, after struggling to impress at the NFL veterans combine, Sam got his next chance with the Alouettes, and it appeared to be a good landing spot.

The first openly gay player in the NFL says he’s stepping away from football.

“I was always coming back”, Sam said, according to the Associated Press (via the New York Daily News).

In a classy move, Alouettes general manager Jim Popp told the Montreal Gazette that the organization stands by Sam and supports him during this hard time.

He made his debut last week in the Alouettes’ seventh game of the season, a 26-23 loss to Ottawa.

Sam probably should have been picked up before that, but many teams in the league were seemingly reluctant to add an openly gay player to their roster.

Sam played his first game with the Montreal Alouettes last week in the Candadian Football League.

Is his professional football career over?

The 25-year-old defensive end announced his decision on Twitter on Friday, citing concerns about his mental state as his reason for doing so. Popp wondered if Sam’s good experience at Missouri made him believe coming out in the NFL wouldn’t be a big deal and was surprised when it was. He spent part of 2014 on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.