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Michael Sam to continue his football career with CFL’s Montreal Allouettes

By Kyle Franzoni

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Michael Sam will be heading to the Canadian Football League in 2015, signing a two-year contract with the Montreal Allouettes.

Michael Sam didn’t set out to change the world. He just wanted to play football and be considered an equal while doing so. Now he’ll get his chance to continue on that path.

The 25-year-old Sam signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Allouettes on Friday. The defensive end will be introduced by the team during a press conference on Tuesday May 26th at 11:00am according to the team announcement.

Michael Sam made national news in February of 2014 when he declared to the world that he was an “openly proud gay man” in an interview with ESPN’s Outside the Lines. Despite his teammates at the University of Missouri knowing as early as August of 2013, the timing of Sam’s announcement came just weeks before the NFL Draft and ultimately challenged the NFL’s acceptance of gay athletes.

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Whether due to his announcement or an ill-conceived decision to work out at outside linebacker prior to the draft, Sam ultimately fell to the seventh round of the draft, where the St. Louis Rams picked him with the 249th overall pick. It was a sharp fall for a player that was the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year after finishing with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss during his senior season in Missouri.

For Sam, it wasn’t about the message or his place on the draft board. He just wanted his opportunity to play.

"“Since February and my big announcement, this has been a whole [lot of] speculation of the first openly gay football player, but you know what? It’s not about that. It’s about playing football.”"

However chances were limited for Sam, as he failed to make the team out of training camp and ultimately was released by the Rams on August 11th. The NFL would call teams and encourage them to pick-up Sam, and he ultimately signed with the Dallas Cowboys on September 3rd to the practice squad. Sam never appeared in an NFL game for the Cowboys and was ultimately released on October 21st.

With the Montreal Allouettes, Michael Sam again gets the opportunity to find his spot on a professional football field. Whether or not that opportunity leads back to the NFL like other players before him, Sam is not sure, but right now he is focused on starting over again and doing what he can to help Montreal win the Grey Cup.

There is still quite a bit of road to be traveled for Michael Sam, but for now, he’ll take things one snap at a time.

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