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Michael Sam Leaves Montreal Alouettes' Training Camp

He wasn't slated to start the Alouettes' opening preseason matchup this Saturday.
FILE - In this March 22, 2015, file photo, Michael Sam runs through a drill during the NFL Super Regional Combine football workout in Tempe, Ariz. The Montreal Alouettes have signed defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. The club says the free agent has agreed to a two-year deal. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
AP
FILE - In this March 22, 2015, file photo, Michael Sam runs through a drill during the NFL Super Regional Combine football workout in Tempe, Ariz. The Montreal Alouettes have signed defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. The club says the free agent has agreed to a two-year deal. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

The NFL's first openly gay player has left the CFL team that gave him another shot at a professional football career.

Michael Sam left the Montreal Alouettes' training camp this week, RDS reporter Didier Orméjuste tweeted Friday.

The team later confirmed that Sam had left, saying that he had "special permission" to leave and go home for "personal reasons."

Orméjuste tweeted that he could still come back.

TSN 690 reporter Rick Moffat earlier ran into the defensive player at Montreal's Pierre Trudeau International Airport.

TSN reported an illness was already expected to sideline the player for the Alouettes' preseason matchup with the Ottawa Redblacks in Quebec City on Saturday.

Montreal Gazette writer Herb Zurkowsky tweeted that he had a migraine.

Sam became the NFL's first openly gay player when he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014.

But the Rams cut him and he later joined the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad. The team waived him.

Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said Sam was considered a "tweener" by NFL clubs, reported NBC News, meaning he didn't quite have the right body to play linebacker or defensive end, but could work well for the Canadian game.

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