Michael Sam isn't on an NFL roster right now and hasn't been on one since he was waived by the Dallas Cowboys in October, but the defensive end isn't giving up on his football dreams just yet. In a Monday Morning Quarterback column written by Sam for Sports Illustrated, he said he's confident he can play in the NFL and said he doesn't believe his sexuality is the reason he hasn't been able to stick on a roster.
Michael Sam doesn’t believe being gay is keeping him out of the NFL
Many have speculated Michael Sam’s sexuality is the reason he doesn’t have an NFL contract, but the former Rams and Cowboys defensive end doesn’t believe that’s the case.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
After he was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Sam survived the first few waves of cuts but was released by the team at the end of August. He was scooped up quickly by the Cowboys and assigned to the practice squad where he remained until Oct. 21.
Sam didn’t receive a futures contract at the end of the season while 25 other defensive ends did, causing Cyd Ziegler of Outsports to speculate that the former SEC Defensive Player of the Year was being frozen out of the league for being gay. On Wednesday, Sam said he doesn’t believe that’s the case:
I don’t believe that being gay has kept me off an NFL roster, but I will challenge anyone who says I don’t have the talent to make it in the league, and I will continue to push myself every single day and do whatever it takes until I can to earn another roster spot.
For now, Sam is hoping that a strong performance in the NFL Veteran Combine in March will convince a team to give him a chance. He applied for a spot in the brand new event which will feature about 100 non-rookies looking to impress teams and get back into the NFL March 22 at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility.
If he receives a bid in the event, all eyes will be on him once again, as has been the case since last February when the Missouri Tigers’ star first announced to the world he was gay. A media storm soon followed with praise, criticism and speculation, but if it was completely up to Sam, the announcement may have never happened when it did:
Immediately after my senior season ended, national reporters started approaching me to tell "my story." I knew what they were talking about; they knew what they were talking about. These requests kept intensifying after the Senior Bowl, and it was becoming obvious that what was kept in the family at Mizzou was about to come out in a big way before the biggest moment of my football career -- the NFL draft.
Sam racked up 19 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks his senior season at Missouri and earned unanimous All-American honors.
See More:
