Michael Sam

And that makes him the first openly gay player to ever appear in a Canadian Football League game.

The Alouettes play Saturday in Calgary, and coach Tom Higgins says the defensive end could compete in any of the five games in August.

In the city where Jackie Robinson made the jump to the big leagues — and a country where gaysame-sexmarriage has been legal for a decade — Michael Sam has come to restart his football career.

The CFL team said the rookie defensive end has been given special permission to return home to Texas. The Alouettes are keeping the “nature of his decision” confidential.

Michael Sam says his priority is helping the Montreal Alouettes win, not making history as the first openly gay player in the Canadian Football League.

Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL, signed a two-year contract Friday with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football league.

One year ago, Michael Sam was supposed to change the world. Actually, that’s not a fair statement. Sam did, in fact, change the world. Or at least send notice that our world was changing.

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, the first openly gay player drafter in the NFL, is set to marry longtime boyfriend, Vito Cammisano. The couple got engaged this week while vacationing in Rome, according to reports.