Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, did not make the cut at St. Louis and now all 31 teams have passed on him. Buffalo Bills Eric Wood says you can thank ESPN for that.

In July, ESPN’s blowhard Keith Olbermann ripped Tony Dungy for saying that he would pass on Michael Sam because of the distractions surrounding what would be the first openly gay player in the NFL. “Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play,” said Dungy, “but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it.”

As if hell-bent on proving Dungy’s point, ESPN has issued a steady stream of updates on Sam’s status in camp and his integration into the team at a rate that top tier players (Sam was a seventh round pick) would never receive.

The low point came last week when ESPN gave a report on Sam's locker room shower habits—for which the outlet was widely slammed and quickly issued an official apology

Now that Sam has been left out, some are pointing to his sexuality as being the issue, but not because of bigotry but, rather, the ESPN effect. Responding to a tweet by NBC Sports’ Ross Tucker, Buffalo Bills’ center Eric Wood voiced what a lot of people in the industry are thinking:   

Here’s the egregious shower report by ESPN:

For those of you who can bear watching Olbermann, here he is calling Dungy the "world's worst person" for saying he'd do what every team in the NFL has now decided to do: