Michael Sam to make CFL debut for Alouettes in August

Michael Sam will make his Montreal Alouettes debut in August 2015, but his coach won't give an exact date. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri,

Montreal (AP) — Michael Sam will make his debut with the Montreal Alouettes in August, but his coach won't give an exact date.

The Alouettes play Saturday in Calgary, and coach Tom Higgins says the defensive end could compete in any of the five games in August.

On Tuesday, Higgins says Sam is "is getting so much closer to being able to play. He wants to go, and I think it's going to happen sooner than later."

Sam wasn't made available for comment.

He became the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team when the St. Louis Rams picked him in 2014. Sam didn't make an NFL roster and recently signed a two-year contract with Montreal in the Canadian Football League.

Sam missed two weeks of training camp for personal reasons, returned on June 29 and has been getting into shape.

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The Gayly – July 28, 2015 @ 6:35pm.