Openly
gay NFL draft pick Michael Sam to 'step away' from football
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[August 15, 2015]
By Eric M. Johnson
(Reuters) - Michael Sam, who last year
became the first openly gay player drafted by a National Football League
team, said on Friday he was stepping away from football, citing concerns
over his mental health.
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The Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, with whom he
signed a contract in May, said on its team website that Sam had left
the team for personal reasons and as a result had been placed on the
team's suspended list.
"The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point
where I became concerned with my mental health," Sam wrote on
Twitter. "Because of this I am going to step away from the game at
this time."
"Thank you all for your understanding and support," he added.
Sam also thanked the Alouettes, and said he hoped to be back on the
field soon. The defensive lineman was suspended by the Alouettes in
June after he left the team's training camp for unexplained personal
reasons.
The National Football League's St. Louis Rams selected Sam in the
seventh round of the 2014 draft but waived him in the final round of
cuts. He was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys but they released him
from their practice squad in October.
Sam was the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as
a senior at the University of Missouri before graduating in December
2013.
The following February, before the NFL Draft, he announced he was
gay.
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ESPN reported that Sam agreed to a two-year deal with the Alouettes
this summer. It also reported that he sat out the team's first five
games and that he failed to record a tackle during his team debut on
August 7.
Sam's supporters have said that his sexuality is irrelevant to his
performance and have dismissed suggestions that an openly gay player
would be a distraction for a professional football team.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Will Dunham and
Ken Wills)
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