We all knew Michael Sam was just the beginning. I suppose some are just surprised the outcome of his coming out are transpiring faster than once thought.
Edward “Chip” Sarafin, who is a backup o-lineman for ASU, recently told a Phoenix-based magazine that he is gay. This makes the senior the first active gay football player in NCAA D-I history.
The article by Joshua Wyrick focused on Sarafin’s educational studies in biomedical engineering with his goal of becoming a neurologist and on his volunteer work. One of his areas of research is making helmets safer to help prevent concussions. The part of Sarafin being gay is addressed in an oh-by-the-way manner near the end.
He came out to his Sun Devils teammates last spring, saying, “it was really personal for me and it benefited my peace of mind greatly.”
Sam, tweeted this following the article’s release:
As brave as Sarafin has been, it should also be noted that the 6-foot-6, 320 pound lineman has never appeared in a game. He’s a walk-on player who isn’t listed on the team’s depth chart. It’s such announcements however that only make it sooner until we see a D-I star come out.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports
Photo Credit: Getty
