Not long after the first openly gay football player was drafted, he was cut from the St. Louis Rams and picked up by the Dallas Cowboys. Some people believed that the rams were the perfect fit for Michael Sam.

“The Rams have the perfect mix of variables for Michael Sam, who has a great opportunity to succeed with them” said reporter Jeffri Chadiha.

An ESPN poll predicting Sam’s NFL career, 41% of people said he will be a backup/special teams. This poll was taken by over 100 thousand people, and it seems to be correct.

Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys said that “Michael was an outstanding look in practice” and that he was “very active and worked, very, very hard”.

Michael Sam was cut from the cowboys because of an excess of defensive linemen. The cowboys signed him to the practice squad in early September and as of now he is not signed with any NFL team.

Many still believe that this was not real reason he was cut, while some say he wasn’t ready for the NFL and still others say that he is. If Michael Sam is brought up into the NFL again he would be the first openly gay active NFL player.

“I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates and fans for their support,” said Michael after getting cut.

Although he was not too thrilled about being cut he posted on twitter saying “While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue fight for an opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday.”

At this time Michael Sam is not signed with any team and any team is allowed to pick him up and he will try to prove he is good enough to play in the NFL.

FSA Connection Questions:

1. In the article how did the author organize the paragraphs?
2. The author seems to offer what main idea?
3. Select one sentence that best summarizes the work.
4. What is the connotation of the word “variable” in the story?
5. Why did the author add a picture?