Today, the Dallas Cowboys waived defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly-gay player on an NFL team. Sam was a seventh-round draft pick of the Rams and was released by that team in August before he signed with the Cowboys, joining the team's practice squad in September of this year.

Sam responded to fans regarding today's announcement on Twitter:

I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, (1/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014

and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an (2/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014

opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday. (3/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014