Former St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys defensive end Michael Sam reflected on the aftermath of his football career in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports.
Sam, who became the first openly gay player in the NFL when the Rams took him in the 2014 draft, said “no one would give me a job” after his brief NFL career ended.
Sam says he began to abuse drugs and alcohol, and once he found himself in a one-bedroom apartment in Dallas, he reached out to the LGBT community and other organizations, but nobody seemed to want to help him.
“no one would give me a job,” he said.
“Where was the support that I got for coming out?” Sam added. “I felt like I was used by everyone.”
He was partying, working out and hooked on cocaine. “I felt lost and worthless,” he said.
Sam has since stopped abusing hard drugs and is currently working to heal his broken relationship with his family.
The 29-year-old reflected on his career, saying,
“I wish I was still playing football, but I know if I was in the NFL I wouldn’t have a relationship with my family.”
Following his playing career, Sam said he contacted the NFL’s player engagement department in hopes of landing a job, but after giving him a tour of the league offices in New York, he said “they just sent me on my way.”
You’d like to think if Sam was good enough, he’d still be on an NFL roster.
Of course he was a great story for everyone to latch onto.
Looks like his 15 minutes came and went quickly.
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