NFL

The strain and sweat on their faces showed just how much one more chance in the NFL means to Michael Sam and 104 others.

A year ago today Michael Sam came out publicly to a tsunami of support. Yet comments from NFL executives foretold his next 12 months as he struggled to latch onto a team as an openly gay man. Now he’s fighting harder than ever to get into the league.

Michael Sam says the the reassuring hand of his partner Vito on his shoulder during the wait to get picked in the NFL draft affirmed his decision to reveal his sexual orientation to the nation.

After becoming the first openly gay player drafted into the National Football League, Michael Sam says he has been contacted by other gay players in the NFL who aren’t public.

Michael Sam hints that he believes he’s not on a NFL roster because of the fact he’s openly gay.

IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have released Michael Sam from the practice squad, another setback as the NFL’s first openly gay player tries to make an active roster during the regular season for the first time. Sam was signed to Dallas’ practice squad on Sept. 3, four days after he was among the final cuts by the St. Louis Rams …

If history is any guide, Michael Sam should be getting ready for his first NFL game. Instead, he’s stuck on the practice squad with the Dallas Cowboys. The league, it would seem, isn’t quite ready for its first openly gay player. We’re not talking about his teammates, either. There was never any indication that Sam was a distraction in the St. Louis locker room, as so many had predicted…

DALLAS — The Republican lobbyist behind the campaign to ban openly gay football players from joining the NFL, says thousands of right-wing Christians will demonstrate Sunday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to protest the Dallas Cowboys signing Michael Sam to its practice squad.

IRVING, Texas — Michael Sam’s second chance in the NFL will be with the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday that the league’s first openly gay player will be added to the practice roster. “We just want to give him a chance to come in and help our football team,” Garrett said. “That’s where our attention is (football). What people say outside the organization is up to them.”

ST. LOUIS — Michael Sam was probably never an ideal fit with the St. Louis Rams and it had absolutely nothing to do with his sexual orientation. They’re just too well-stocked at defensive end, Sam’s position. Sam showed up for his face-to-face exit meeting with coach Jeff Fisher Sunday, a few hours after clearing waivers.