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Michael Sam still has some work to do to see his dream of playing pro football come true. The first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team was cut by the St. Louis Rams.

Reports the Huffington Post:

Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete drafted into the NFL, was cut by the St. Louis Rams as the team trimmed its roster ahead of the start of the 2014 season, according to multiple reports. The news emerged on Saturday shortly before the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET deadline to finalize rosters and trim them down to 53 players.

At a press conference following the announcement, Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher said that Sam was notified of his release on Saturday, who replied “Thanks for the opportunity.” Fisher said the decision to release Sam was “a football decision,” and, “I was pulling for him, but it didn’t work out.” Asked about how Sam’s time with the Rams was, Fisher said, “There was no distraction. Mike fit in very, very well. He was fun to be around. No issues.”

If you’re talking strictly football, why would there be? After all, it was ESPN, not the team he was trying to make, that made a big deal about the man’s show habits.

There is still a chance Sam will be picked up by another team in need of a defensive end or even make the Rams’ practice squad.

Photo: ESPN