First openly gay NFL player Michael Sam steps away from the game for 'personal reasons'

• Michael Sam, 25, Tweeted on Friday on Friday that he was stepping away from football
• He said the last 12 months had been 'very difficult' and at times he 'became concerned with my mental health'
• The Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes confirmed is departure
• Sam was the first openly gay football  

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 00:54 EST, 15 August 2015 | Updated: 05:43 EST, 15 August 2015

Michael Sam is stepping away from professional football.

Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, has told the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes that he is leaving the team.

'The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health,' Sam tweeted on Friday. 'Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time.'

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Michael Sam, the first openly gay play to be drafted by the NFL, announced that he will be stepping away from the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes for 'personal reasons'

The Alouettes confirmed in a release that Sam has left the club for 'personal reasons' and that he has been added to the team's suspended list.

He did not play in Montreal's home loss to Edmonton on Thursday night, with the team citing a sore back. He made his CFL debut the previous week.

The 25-year-old defensive end, the 2013 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year at University of Missouri, failed to record a tackle in Montreal's loss to Ottawa.

Sam agreed to a two-year deal with the Alouettes this summer. He left training camp June 12, citing personal reasons, and sat out the team's first five games.

Sam was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Rams, did not make the team, and spent some time on the Cowboys' practice squad before being released.

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Earlier this summer, Sam had signed a two-year deal with the Alouettes. He left training camp on June 12 for personal reasons, which caused him to have to sit out of the team's first five games of the season

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3199007/Michael-Sam-leaves-Canadian-Football-League-mental-health-reasons.html#ixzz3ist3YXGI
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