First Drafted Openly Gay NFL Player Stepping Away

August 15, 2015

A defensive star out of Mizzou, Michael Sam was drafted last year in the last round of the NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. The touching news? He was the first openly gay player to ever be drafted. The unfortunate news? He didn’t make the team roster out of training camp.

Since that time Sam had a short stint on the practice squad with the Dallas Cowboys before signing a two-year deal with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes in May.

Now, he’s leaving the sport due to “mental health.”

The last 12 months have been very difficult for me to the point where I became concerned with my own mental health....

Posted by Michael Sam on Friday, August 14, 2015

Sam made his CFL debut just recently during Montreal's Week 7 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks. He was then placed on the team's injured list for Week 8. He missed the team's first five games after leaving training camp June 12 citing "personal reasons."

It's obviously hard to assume what kind of mental anguish Sam is going through or why he's going through it, but I hope it has nothing to do with persecution of his sexuality.

Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.

Photo Credit: Getty

Josh is originally from the small berg of Arthur, Ill, proudly the Amish capital of the state. It also has one hell of a pumpkin patch.

Josh has enjoyed dipping his toes into a variety of careers since graduating from the University of Alabama, the most rewarding thus far having served as a youth director in southern California for four years, and his broadcasting career which has garnered two Emmy awards and three Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Josh enjoys loud rock music, Tom Hanks movies, dogs that like to cuddle and long runs. He is also always in search for America's greatest cheeseburger. Follow him here if you would like to be friends!