It looks like Michael Sam's road back to the NFL is going to take a detour next month, a detour that involves dancing shoes. ABC has announced that Sam will be a contestant on the latest season of "Dancing with the Stars."
The show is set to premiere on March 16, which is just six days before the NFL's first-ever veteran combine, an event that Sam had hoped to participate in. The 25-year-old hasn't been on an NFL roster since being cut from the Cowboys practice squad in October.
Sam said in early February that he would be applying for one of the 100 spots at the veteran combine. It's unclear if Sam's application for the combine was approved, but if it was, then NFL teams probably aren't going to be too thrilled that Sam's focused more on dancing than making an NFL roster.
The first openly gay player to ever be drafted to the NFL actually took to Twitter this week to touch on that exact topic.
Very excited to be a part of @DancingABC. Football remains my unquestioned number 1 priority, however, while I continue to train and (1/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February 24, 2015
stay ready, I am ecstatic to participate in a fun, athletic competition like so many players before me have done. Filming this (2/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February 24, 2015
offseason is very flexible and allows me to be part of the veterans combine 3/22 if accepted or any other workouts. (3/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February 24, 2015
As Sam mentioned, he won't be the first football player to ever appear on the show. Chad Johnson, Hines Ward, Jacoby Jones, Donald Driver, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Kurt Warner, Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Lawrence Taylor and Jason Taylor have all made appearances.
Of the players on that list, Smith, Driver and Ward all went on to win "Dancing with the Stars." Just for the record I only know that because I'm in charge of my family's "Dancing with the Stars" elimination pool every year.
