It’s been a roller-coaster year for NFL hopeful Michael Sam, who went from making history as the first openly gay player to being drafted when he was picked up by the St. Louis Rams to hitting a major roadblock when they released him during their final cut. And though it seemed hopeful that Sam would finally make an NFL team when the Dallas Cowboys picked him up for their practice squad, it looks like Sam’s NFL dreams have been dashed again.
Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys revealed that they’d waived Sam from their 10-man practice squad, instead picking up linebacker Troy Davis.
The news comes just a week after Cowboys’ coach Jason Garrett praised Sam for his dedication to the field.
“Comes to work every day and practices hard,” Garrett said last week. “One of 10 practice roster guys that we have, so he’s working on his skills, trying to develop, but also doing a lot of other things. Playing offense, defense, playing the kicking game, that’s what a lot of those guys do.”
It’s unfortunate that Sam has been cut yet again, especially considering that many aspiring LGBT athletes were looking towards both Sam and the NFL to prove that the door had been kicked open for gay players to finally make their way into the NFL.
But Sam hasn’t given up hope yet. Check out his response to the cut on the next page. – nicholas robinson
