Michael Sam is stepping away from football for mental health reasons

Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, announced Friday he is stepping away from football. He cited "mental health" as the reason in a series of tweets.

Sam, 25, had joined the CFL's Montreal Alouettes after he didn't get a spot on the St. Louis Rams or the Dallas Cowboys.

The Alouettes confirmed his departure in a news release.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.