Dallas Cowboys

Michael Sam speaks with father for first time since coming out as gay

Published Aug. 20, 2015 5:35 p.m. ET

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When Michael Sam became the first openly gay NFL prospect last year, his father told the New York Times that he was struggling with that idea. They haven't spoken since. 

"I'm old school," Michael Sam Sr. said in February 2014. "I'm a man-and-a-woman type of guy."

This past April, while on "Dancing With the Stars", Sam noted that coming out "cost me my relationship with my father."

Sam, who announced that he was stepping away from football last week, took a step in repairing a fractured relationship with his dad.

Sam said last week that the last 12 months were very difficult for him and that he "became concerned with [his] mental health." 

The St. Louis Rams spent a seventh-round pick on Sam in 2014. Shortly after, he was released and signed to the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.

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