Michael Sam first made history when he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, making him the first openly gay football player to be selected by an NFL team. This past Saturday, he made history once again by being the first openly gay player to be cut by an NFL team. News of his release came minutes before the NFL's mandated roster deadline.

The news sent shockwaves to both the NFL and LGBT community, and many are asking why he was cut. According to the New York Times, some in the LGBT community are arguing that he was cut due to homophobia within the NFL. However, the St. Louis Rams stand by their decision as being purely football-based. In fact, Sam was not the only player to be released by the Rams on Saturday, as they had drafted 256 rookies and faced the difficult decision of cutting their roster down to 53 men. According to draft expert Matt Miller, only 10% of players taken in the draft's final round are kept on rosters. As Sam was a seventh-round draft pick, his chances were statistically slim to begin with.

Still, Sam certainly had one of the highest profiles of any rookie to be drafted. He was one of among 10 other draftees to appear on commemorative coins, and Oprah Winfrey even offered to launch a reality show based on his dreams of making it into an NFL roster. However, he chose to back away from the show so as not to draw too much attention to himself.

Despite being cut, Sam is keeping is head high. ThinkProgress reports that after the recent game against the Miami Dolphins, he told reporters, "I'm very confident that I'll be playing on a NFL roster this fall," highlighting his continuing enthusiasm for the sport. St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher also believes Sam will do well in the future, saying, "There's no challenge with respect to Mike Sam...He's not about drawing attention to himself. He's kept his head down and worked, and you can't ask anything more out of a player for that matter."  For now, it seems Michael Sam is well on his way to achieving his dreams.