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Move aside, Mariah, Diana, Aretha and Gloria — we have a new gay icon. One who is masculine and plays professional sports. Yes, I’m generalizing (we don’t all love divas), but when Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend on live television, many underlined the importance of his actions for the gay community.

Sam had broken into the heteronormative world of professional sports.

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Yes, a few athletes had done it before him, but never had we seen a 6-foot-2, 261-pound U.S. football player in tears, holding his partner on a live broadcast.

After a brief stay with the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad, Sam ended up signing a two-year deal with the Alouettes. He then boarded a flight back to Texas a day before the first Canadian Football League preseason game, citing “personal reasons.”

Rumours continue to swirl around Sam’s departure. Did he leave before getting cut from the team? Did he realize the CFL maybe wasn’t for him? Or, gasp, did his partner refuse to come to Montreal?