The wall for gay football players in major Division I college football programs was broken down by Missouri’s Michael Sam last season, although nobody outside the Missouri locker room knew about it. The 2014 season will be different, as Arizona State is believed to be the home of the first publicly out football player at a major Division I college football program.
Edward Sarafin, a back-up offensive lineman, has come out in the public, using an interview in Compete, a regional magazine in Phoenix, to tell his story. As told in the story, Sarafin broke the news to his teammates at Arizona State last spring, perhaps inspired by the story of Sam and his acceptance by his Missouri teammates.
Eventually, we will reach a point where news of a football player coming out will not be such groundbreaking news, but we have not quite crossed that line just yet. This is tremendous news for the sports world and the gay community.
Helmet sticker to Out Sports.