The Sports Xchange

Defensive end Michael Sam is back in Montreal with the Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, two weeks after he left training camp for unexplained personal reasons.

The Montreal Gazette reported Friday that Sam was in Montreal on Wednesday and plans to be at team meetings this weekend before practicing Monday.

There has been no explanation for why Sam abruptly left the CFL team. The Alouettes placed Sam on their suspended list after he left.

At the time, Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said he was surprised by Sam’s departure.

“There’s nothing to tell you. He wanted to go home, and that’s what he did,” Popp said. “I don’t know why. When a guy wants to go home, they go home. He had some personal things to take care of. I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns. I’m surprised he left. I was very surprised.”

Sam, who signed in May with the Alouettes, was the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team when he was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams last year. He was released by the Rams during the preseason and later picked up and let go by the Dallas Cowboys.

The 25-year-old Sam encountered difficulty in the NFL because at 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, he did not exactly fit the prototype of a defensive end or an outside linebacker.

Sam was co-defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference while at Missouri.