Michael Sam Placed On Montreal Alouettes’ Suspended List: Is His Football Career Over?
Former University of Missouri football player Michael Sam left the Montreal Alouettes’ training camp this past Friday and headed home, citing “personal reasons” but not going into full detail. At this point, it’s unclear why Sam wanted to return to his home state of Texas.
According to a statement on the Alouettes official website, Sam was granted permission to return home, but the team did not disclose why they allowed him to do so.
“Out of respect for Michael Sam, the nature of this decision will remain confidential. The Montreal Alouettes fully respect Michael Sam’s decision and we rally around him to offer all the support needed. The team has left the door open and Michael is welcome to come back whenever he feels ready.”
The @MTLAlouettes have officially moved DL Michael Sam to the suspended list. #CFL #CFLTC pic.twitter.com/DyBVyq1qAg
— CFL (@CFL) June 15, 2015
The team’s general manager, Jim Popp, echoed a similar statement when speaking to the Montreal Gazette, saying Sam’s decision to leave the training camp “surprised” him.
“If he doesn’t come back, I would think football’s over for him. He’s the one that has to face that.”
However, Popp is expecting Sam to return; he just doesn’t know when that will happen.
“I don’t think he doesn’t want to play football. That’s why he came here.”
But an unnamed source told the Montreal Gazette that Sam’s reason for leaving the training camp is possibly because of a comment made by a fellow teammate about his lacking performance.
“All I know is I heard somebody made a comment about him, about how he wasn’t very good and wasn’t having a very good camp. He took it personally and was pouting in his room. It’s very strange. I have no idea what’s going on. He might have a personal issue.”
Popp pointed out that another reason why Sam may have wanted to leave was because of the incessant media coverage surrounding him.
“It’s a huge story because everybody keeps hounding and hounding and hounding. Michael Sam just wants to be a football player. I would think anybody that’s 25 years old that has been going through it for a year and a half, it would have to affect him. I would think so. That’s one reason he didn’t want to do interviews and just concentrate on football.”
It has been almost one month since the Inquisitr reported that Michael Sam had signed on to play defensive end for the Canadian Football League (CFL) team. Sam proudly stated that he was looking forward to being a part of the team, and he also made history by being the first openly gay football player to be drafted by the CFL. This was in addition to being the first openly gay player to be drafted by the National Football League (NFL) when he was selected by the St. Louis Rams before being released. Sam then went on to be a part of the Dallas Cowboys practice squad before being cut by the team in October.
“Very excited and proud to be joining @MTLAlouettes! Cannot wait to get back on the field and bring a Grey Cup to #Montreal!
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) May 22, 2015
Do you think this is the end of the road for Michael Sam?
[Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images]
