A defensive star out of Mizzou, Michael Sam was drafted last year in the last round of the NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. The touching news? He was the first openly gay player to ever be drafted. The unfortunate news? He didn’t make the team roster out of training camp.
Since that time Sam had a short stint on the practice squad with the Dallas Cowboys before signing a two-year deal with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes in May.
Now, he’s leaving the sport due to “mental health.”
The last 12 months have been very difficult for me to the point where I became concerned with my own mental health....
Posted by Michael Sam on Friday, August 14, 2015
Sam made his CFL debut just recently during Montreal's Week 7 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks. He was then placed on the team's injured list for Week 8. He missed the team's first five games after leaving training camp June 12 citing "personal reasons."
It's obviously hard to assume what kind of mental anguish Sam is going through or why he's going through it, but I hope it has nothing to do with persecution of his sexuality.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
