Michael Sam Makes an Impact, if Not the Rams' Roster

Saturday, August 30, 2014

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Michael Sam Makes an Impact, if Not the Rams' Roster - New York Times

Pro Football |Michael Sam Makes an Impact, if Not the Rams’ Roster

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Michael Sam, in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, was among the final cuts by the St. Louis Rams. Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Sports of The Times

By WILLIAM C. RHODEN

The St. Louis Rams made history in the spring when they drafted Michael Sam, an all-American defensive end from Missouri, making him the first openly gay player selected by an N.F.L. team.

Sam and the Rams made history again on Saturday, this time when Sam became the first openly gay player to be cut by an N.F.L. team.

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher, making the most critically watched transaction of his tenure, told reporters that Sam had been a class act all the way.

“I will tell you this: I was pulling for Mike; I really was,” he said. “And I don’t say that very often. But I was — Mike came in here and did everything we asked him to do.”

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Sam, taken late in the seventh round, the 249th player drafted out of 256, was not the only rookie released by the Rams on Saturday as they pared their roster to the 53-player limit. They cut other late-round draft picks — including quarterback Garrett Gilbert, safety Christian Bryant and offensive tackle Mitchell Van Dyk — but Sam had by far the highest profile of any rookie hopeful and one of the highest profiles of any player on the team.

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher said Sam, in a game against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, had been a class act. Marc Serota/Getty Images

At one point, sales of Sam’s Rams jersey were second only to those of Cleveland’s Johnny Manziel among rookies. He was selected along with 10 other draftees to appear on commemorative coins. He picked up the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs.

Oprah Winfrey planned to launch a reality show around Sam’s quest to make an N.F.L. roster, though he wisely chose to back away from the project.

After initially, perhaps understandably, becoming a lightning rod for a cause, Sam settled down and focused on making the uphill climb toward a place on an N.F.L. roster.

Fisher acknowledged Sam’s focus on Saturday and his prospects for latching on with another team.

“There’s no challenge with respect to Mike Sam,” he said. “He’s not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked, and you can’t ask anything more out of any player for that matter.”

On Saturday, Fisher did not answer questions about whether Sam might be re-signed and placed on the practice squad.

The Rams seemed to be in a difficult situation. I wondered if they might allow Sam to make the team as a symbol of equanimity. The fact that Sam was cut reinforces the notion that the only thing that really matters in the N.F.L. is winning games and that there is little room for sentiment.

Still, Sam’s selection in May was a statement advancing equal opportunity: that regardless of race, ethnicity or sexuality, all people should be given an opportunity to follow their dreams. In this case, that meant giving an openly gay player a fair opportunity to make a professional football team.

In reality, the odds of making the team were stacked against Sam, just as they have been since he came out of Hitchcock, Tex., as a Missouri recruit from whom little was expected in the demanding Southeastern Conference. Supporters hoped that the intangibles that compelled Sam to make himself into an exceptional football player and person would help him make the Rams’ roster.

On the football front, there was just too much to overcome. He was something of a luxury pick, the common wisdom being that he selected late because he was a tweener who, at 6-foot-2 and about 260 pounds, was too small to play defensive line and too slow to be a linebacker.

The Rams did not need help at defensive end, where they already have two former first-round picks as starters.

After he was cut, Sam wrote on Twitter: “The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I’ve always known. The journey continues.”

That raises a question: Will Sam’s journey continue in the N.F.L. or will teams breathe a sigh of relief; say, “Glad that’s over”; and move on?

Did Sam show enough during training camp and in preseason games to earn a second chance somewhere? Or will the same reservations that saw his stock drop so deep into the final round of the draft emerge again?

Will teams echo the reluctance expressed by the former coach Tony Dungy and back away from signing Sam because his presence might be a distraction?

In fact, Sam has been an inspiration.

He is the seventh of eight children. One of his brothers died of a gunshot wound, two other brothers are in prison and another has been missing since 1998.

At some point in his life Sam decided that he would make more out of himself, that he would live a life of resilience and courage, that his life would be a series of happy endings.

When he was introduced to the St. Louis news media, Sam, upbeat and confident, said, “I’m determined to be great.”

In some ways, that sentiment has nothing to do with football. I’d say that Michael Sam is well on his way.