In comments to TMZ Sports, Michael Sam
strongly suggested that he believes his sexual orientation is keeping
him off an NFL roster.
Sam, the first openly gay player to be
drafted by the NFL, was cut by the St. Louis Rams before the start of
the season. He then joined the Cowboys' 10-man practice squad, where
he stayed for seven weeks before being let go.
TMZ caught up with Sam at the Los
Angeles International Airport on Tuesday morning.
“Do you think with you coming out
that that affected your ability to play on teams?” TMZ asked. “Or
you think it was just the level of talent that you went up against
after college?”
“I think I was the SEC Defensive
Player of the Year last year,” Sam responded. “So, I don't think
it had to do with talent.” (The video is embedded on this page.
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Last month, GQ named Sam one of
its Men of 2014.
(Related: Michael
Sam: I needed football to escape evil brothers.)