Michael Sam is back in Missouri, working on a master’s degree and still hopeful for a career in the NFL. The 2014 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year from Missouri was cut by the Rams and spent part of last season on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad before being released.
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On Friday, Sam was a guest on The Dan Patrick Show, and Patrick asked him if he believed that coming out hurt his professional career.
But some reporters were aware of his sexuality, and Sam feared they would break the news, which he wanted to do on his own terms, he said. I came out because I didn’t want to hide anything in my life. I’m so excited to get back to work and I’m just excited to be here.
“Since I came out [as gay] in February 2014, I realized that I’ve been in the media for so long and so much, that I’ve kind of gotten used to it”, Sam told ABC 17.
Taking a break from football “was one of the smartest things I’ve done in a long time”, he said.
Sam also spoke about why he left the Montreal Allouettes, who had signed him to a CFL deal.
He continued to speak about his troubles in the CFL and how it wasn’t helping him. Said the former SEC Player of the Year on the prospects of making it to a regular season game “I am a football player, a damn good one too, and I want to prove myself within this league”.
“I was dealing with a lot of stuff … a lot of stuff was on my mind”, Sam told Patrick. Sam deserves credit for having the courage to come out before last year’s draft, and he showed some flashes of talent in the preseason with the Rams. “I wanted to wet my feet a little bit and see if this could be a career of mine in the future”.
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That focus, however, will not deter Sam from also focusing on a return to the National Football League; he continues to insist he hasn’t given up on a comeback.
