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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said rookie defensive end Michael Sam, who is the first openly gay player in league history, has not been a distraction to the team.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Speaking on ESPN Radio, Fisher dispelled the idea of additional media coverage impacting the team.\r\n\r\n\u201CLet\u2019s define distraction. There were a couple of extra cameras during early OTAs. There may have been an extra camera yesterday as rookies reported and went on the field the first time. Mike\u2019s a very passionate athlete. He\u2019s very focused on trying to make this football team.\"&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Former NFL coach Tony Dungy made headlines earlier this week for saying he would not have drafted Sam&amp;nbsp;because of possible distractions, though Dungy later clarified his comments on the subject.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More: Browns coach says team&amp;nbsp;won't cut Josh Gordon&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sam was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Rams.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[h/t Pro Football Talk]\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;- Paul Palladino&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/07/23/st-louis-rams-michael-sam-jeff-fisher>