Michael Sam got another chance on Tuesday. Hopefully, he can make the most of it because even the most well-intentioned articles aren't helping his cause.
ESPN is one of several media outlets to report that the Dallas Cowboys have flown in Sam to undergo a physical with the intention of signing him to their practice roster.
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The St. Louis Rams, who drafted Sam, the first openly gay player to be selected in the NFL Draft, waived him on Saturday and did not add him to their practice roster.
The Cowboys, however, also have filled their practice roster, so they would have to release a player to sign Sam.
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Time.com commented that the Cowboys' signing of Sam saved the NFL from embarrassment, saying that his inability to find work immediate after the Rams cut him was "starting to stink."
"Michael Sam, after performing well during the preseason, really wasn't good enough to earn a spot on any NFL roster? Not even as a practice player?" Time.com reported.
"This year, 41 players, including Sam, were selected by NFL teams in the seventh and final round of the NFL draft. As of early Tuesday afternoon, 80 percent of them were slated to start the season on an NFL roster. Twenty-one players made the 53-man active roster, six more made practice squads, and six were placed on injured reserve/physically unable to perform lists." Time also included a tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter.
12 players had 2.5 or more sacks this preseason. 10 are on 53-man rosters. One on practice squad. And last, Michael Sam, hasn't found work. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2014
The problem with Time's logic is that the Rams signed undrafted free agent Ethan Westbrooks of West Texas A&M, instead of Sam. St. Louis was not raked over the coals for that move, as the rest of the NFL has been for passing on Sam.
Time.com used a Bleacher Report story, which stated, "In interviews with a number of team officials, I can't find one who will actually say to me, 'He can't play.' They all point to the media and say he's too big a distraction.
"One general manager told me, 'Teams want to sign Michael Sam but fear the media attention.'"
He'll get another chance to show whether he can play. If the Cowboys deem that he can't play, will they be vilified for cutting him? And will the rest of the NFL "stink" because they didn't sign him?
Quarterback Tim Tebow may be wondering where all this support for him was when he couldn't land an NFL job last season. This was a quarterback that led Denver to the playoffs and won a playoff game in his only year as a starter in 2012.
It was generally thought that openly Christian Tebow brought the same kind of media sideshow wherever he went that Sam might bring. But no one reported that the snubbing of Tebow stunk.
Sam obviously is not in the same class athletically as the Houston Texans' Jadeveon Clowney. But it's up to Sam to prove that he is not a fringe player.
Do you think the NFL has a bias against Michael Sam? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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