Canadian
football's Alouettes suspend defensive end Michael Sam
Send a link to a friend
[June 16, 2015]
(Reuters) - Michael Sam, the first
openly gay player drafted into the NFL, was suspended by the Canadian
Football League's Montreal Alouettes on Monday after the defensive
lineman left the team's training camp last week for unexplained personal
reasons.
|
Sam walked away from the Alouettes on Friday, one day before the
team's pre-season opener, a 26-9 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.
By suspending Sam, the team freed up a roster spot and will retain
his rights.
"There's nothing to tell you. He wanted to go home, and that's what
he did," Alouettes General Manager Jim Popp told the Montreal
Gazette. "I don't know why.
"When a guy wants to go home, they go home. He had some personal
things to take care of."
Popp said he would not be surprised if Sam returned.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jun/16/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png)
"I'm surprised he left," he said. "I was very surprised. If he
doesn't come back, I would think football's over for him. He's the
one that has to face that.
"But I don't think he doesn't want to play football. That's why he
came here."
Sam's representatives declined a request to comment.
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.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
Sam played in college at the University of Missouri where he was the
Southeastern Conference's co-defensive player of the year in 2013.
The Alouettes, who signed Sam last month, open their season on June
25 at home against Ottawa.
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2012/Jun/18/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_062409.png) |