Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team, has been cut by the St Louis Rams.

The Rams announced their final 53-man roster for the new season, which begins on Thursday, shortly before the 4pm eastern time cut-off and after a nervous Saturday for Sam and other NFL hopefuls.

Using Twitter, Sam said: “I want to thank the entire Rams organisation and the city of St Louis for giving me this tremendous opportunity and allowing me to show I can play at this level. I look forward to continuing to build on the progress I made here toward a long and successful career.

“The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I’ve always known. The journey continues.”

Sam could still play in the NFL this season, with another team. He could also return to the Rams as a practice-squad player.

The Rams’ head coach, Jeff Fisher, told a news conference there would be “no challenges whatsoever” for any team which picked up Sam.

“There’s no challenge with respect to Mike Sam,” Fisher 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.”

Fisher said Sam’s failure to make the Rams roster was “a football decision”.

On Saturday, the defensive end attended the University of Missouri’s season opener against South Dakota, shaking hands with well-wishers on the sideline. At the 4pm deadline he was introduced to the crowd; looking at his phone, he then walked to the locker room.

The Rams’ decision reopened a debate that has flowed around the NFL since Sam came out in public, in February. Then, the co-defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, who had come out to his Missouri team-mates before the preceding college season, told the New York Times: “I’m Michael Sam, I’m a football player, and I’m gay.”

Soon after, speaking anonymously, eight NFL coaches and executives told Sports Illustrated they expect a significant drop in Sam’s draft position.



In May, Sam was picked by the Rams 34th in the final of seven draft rounds and 249th out of 256 picks overall, leading to further debate about whether his sexuality had influenced his lowly placing.

A post-draft kiss with his boyfriend also led to controversy. A Miami Dolphins player, Don Jones, was disciplined by the league after tweeting “omg” and “horrible” after ESPN aired pictures of the kiss.

At the time, coach Fisher called the pick a “second historic moment” for the Rams, who in 1946 signed the running back Kenny Washington, the first black player in American football’s modern era.



President Barack Obama said Sam’s selection represented “an important step forward in our nation’s journey”. In July, Sam accepted the ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which is given by the sports network ESPN to “individuals who have shown strength in the face of adversity and stood up for their beliefs”. Previous winners of the award include Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and Nelson Mandela.

On Saturday Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com used Twitter to say the Rams’ decision to cut Sam was “disappointing at best”, and added: “Now the other 31 NFL teams are on the clock.”

Michael Sam in uniform before the Rams’ final preseason game, against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. Photograph: Marc Serota/Getty Images

Sam, who told the press after his decision to come out that he was “determined to be great”, played for the Rams during NFL preseason. After his first game, a 26-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints, he said: “You know, I can play in this league. I can play in this league.”

He played in the Rams’ last preseason game, on Thursday, leading the team with six tackles in a 14-13 defeat by the Miami Dolphins. Afterwards, coach Fisher said: “I didn’t really see anything good nor bad out of him, but we’ll look at the tape. But he played hard, got a lot of snaps.”

Fisher added that he thought Sam “can play in this league”.