Michael Sam says coming out as gay ruined his chances of making it in the NFL.
The first openly gay professional football player to get drafted into the NFL is pretty upset about the lack of a football career. The former SEC defensive player of the year, Michael Sam, had a minor role with the Rams and Cowboys but neither ended with him playing in a regular season NFL game. The last we heard from him, he was quitting the CFL and pro football in general to focus on his mental health.
On Friday, Michael Sam was a guest on The Dan Patrick Show and Patrick asked him if he believed that coming out hurt his professional career.
“I’m not going to say … but it probably would have been better for me if I didn’t come out. I would be on a roster.”
Sam also spoke about why he left the Montreal Allouettes, who had signed him to a CFL deal. In addition to the mental health reasons, Michael Sam claimed he was regressing as a player by playing in the CFL.
“I never really wanted to go to the CFL, but I did it and I committed to going. I want to thank the Montreal Alouettes for all they’ve done for me, but I wasn’t getting better as a football player. That was one of the main keys, I wasn’t getting better as a football player. It was a different defense, a defense I wasn’t used to, and all the stuff I learned from the Rams, the Cowboys, I thought I was losing that technique in Montreal.”
Despite Michael Sam’s perception that his sexuality was at least partially the reason why he hasn’t stuck in the NFL, he says he has no regrets about his decision to come out. He also points out he is training for a comeback in the NFL and believes he has the talent to make an NFL roster next year.
“I am a football player, a damn good one too, and I want to prove myself within this league,” Sam said. “I know that I can do this, and I can play in this league.”
Since leaving the Allouttes, Sam has returned to Missouri to pursue a master’s degree.
If Michael Sam is able to somehow make it back to the NFL and actually make a comeback next season, it would be a huge story. However, it doesn’t seem all that likely considering he already had two opportunities in the NFL and for whatever reason, it has not worked out. That being said, Tim Tebow almost made a comeback joining the Eagles this season, Caitlyn Jenner is officially a woman, so anything is pretty much possible.
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(Dan Patrick Show; H/T UPROXX)
