{"id":91100,"date":"2016-03-24T07:12:17","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T15:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=91100"},"modified":"2016-03-24T07:12:17","modified_gmt":"2016-03-24T15:12:17","slug":"rams-made-deal-with-nfl-to-draft-michael-sam-to-not-film-hard-knocks-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=91100","title":{"rendered":"Rams Made Deal With NFL To Draft Michael Sam To Not Film \u2018Hard Knocks,\u2019 Report Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)<\/a> \u2014 A longtime NFL reporter revealed Wednesday the NFL agreed to a deal where the Los Angeles Rams \u2014 then St. Louis \u2014 didn\u2019t have to do HBO\u2019s \u201cHard Knocks\u201d series in 2014 if they drafted Michael Sam.<\/p>\n

\u201cSources say NFL agreed not to have Rams on Hard Knocks in 2014 if they drafted Michael Sam,\u201d Howard Balzer tweeted.<\/p>\n

Sam was the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. The Rams selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Sam was not shocked by the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not surprised at all,\u201d Sam tweeted.<\/p>\n

Balzer reported the NFL was concerned Sam wouldn\u2019t be drafted, so a deal was made with the Rams.<\/p>\n

\u201cRams didn\u2019t want Hard Knocks even without Sam. League concerned he wouldn\u2019t be drafted. Deal made,\u201d Balzer said.<\/p>\n

The Rams, who recently moved to Los Angeles, will be the featured team on \u201cHard Knocks\u201d this year.<\/p>\n

Sam, fhe former University of Missouri defensive end, was cut by the Rams before the beginning of the 2014 regular season. He was then signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, where he only lasted seven weeks.<\/p>\n

He signed a deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2015 but only played one game after leaving the team for mental health reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health. Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time,\u201d Sam said last August. \u201cI thank the Alouettes for this opportunity and hope to be back on the field soon. Thank you all for your understanding and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam told Colin Cowherd in November he wished he wasn\u2019t drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had my way, I really do wish I went undrafted,\u201d Sam said at the time. \u201cI could have actually went to a team who really needed pass rush, and needed a defensive end who could pass rush the quarterback. But the Rams, even though I learned a log from Chris Long and [Robert] Quinn, I think that I could have done better being on an active roster right now if I went to a different team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam said in January he\u2019s going to give the NFL \u201cone more shot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) \u2014 A longtime NFL reporter revealed Wednesday the NFL agreed to a deal where the Los Angeles Rams \u2014 then St. Louis \u2014 didn\u2019t have to do HBO\u2019s \u201cHard Knocks\u201d series in 2014 if they drafted Michael … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[216,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football","category-homophobia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t