Michael Sam, the first openly gay
player to be drafted into the National Football League (NFL), said
this week that his football career would be in better shape had he
not publicly come out.
“I wanted to come out after I made an
NFL roster. It really wasn't supposed to be public,” Sam, 25, said
during an appearance on the Dan
Patrick Show. “It was supposed to be to the team, as I did
at the University of Missouri.”
Sam recently left the CFL's Montreal
Alouettes citing “personal reasons.” He was drafted by the St.
Louis Rams but cut before the start of last season. He then joined
the Cowboys' 10-man practice squad, where he stayed for seven weeks
before being let go.
“[My career] would have been better
for me if I didn't come out,” Sam said. “I would be on a roster.
But, as I said, I have no regrets whatsoever.”
Sam said that he left the Alouettes
because “it was … a defense I wasn't used to.”