Michael Sam Cut From St. Louis Rams' Starting Team
After a decent showing in the pre-season, the first openly gay NFL player did not make the final cut.
The odds weren't in his favor anyway, but it's still too bad.
Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete drafted into the NFL, was cut by the St. Louis Rams as the team trimmed its roster ahead of the start of the 2014 season, according to multiple reports. The news emerged on Saturday shortly before the NFL's 4 p.m. ET deadline to finalize rosters and trim them down to 53 players.
At a press conference following the announcement, Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher said that Sam was notified of his release on Saturday, who replied "Thanks for the opportunity." Fisher said the decision to release Sam was "a football decision," and, "I was pulling for him, but it didn't work out." Asked about how Sam's time with the Rams was, Fisher said, "There was no distraction. Mike fit in very, very well. He was fun to be around. No issues."