Arizona OL Chip Sarafin Announces He Is Gay
Arizona OL (offensive lineman) Edward “Chip” Sarafin has announced that he is homosexual in an interview in Compete Magazine. The announcement of Sarafin being gay not only made the Arizona OL the first publicly gay football player in the FBS, but also put him at odds with the Arizona State governor.
The Arizona OL says that he told his teammates last spring, but the big lineman didn’t elaborate on their responses, and instead, said that doing so benefited his peace of mind. His coach did react to the public announcement with a Twitter post, however, made via the Pac-12 Networks account.
Diversity and acceptance are two pillars of our program, Todd Graham says about Chip Sarafin. http://t.co/GLdwnkG84z pic.twitter.com/rROqVtJzYM
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) August 13, 2014
Sarafin is one of the most physically imposing OLs in the Pac-12, but the Arizona State player rarely plays the position. He is instead used to provide depth to the center position and often gets field time on special teams instead.
His official roster listing has the Arizona OL standing at six-feet, six inches and 320 pounds. Ultimately, the Arizona OL does not have plans for professional football as a goal but is working on a graduate-level biomedical engineering degree in the medical field.
The Arizona OL also currently works with the Pat Tillman Foundation, a group dedicated in honor of the promising young player who gave up his career to join the military, ultimately dying in Afghanistan.
Although relatively rare in football, openly gay players are not unheard of. This year has seen two other players also acknowledge their sexual orientations publicly: Conner Mertens (kicker, Willamette University) and Mitch Eby (defensive end, Chapman University). There is a larger movement in sports to openly accept and reduce fears for those, like this Arizona OL, who have alternative sexual orientations.
The biggest news, of course, was St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam becoming the first openly gay player in NFL history. He tweeted about the Arizona OL making his announcement.
Congratulations Chip Sarafin for having the courage to be yourself. Wishing you and your teammates much success this season. #courage2014
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) August 13, 2014
All of this, however, puts the OL Sarafin at odds with his state’s governor, who is decidedly not in favor of gayness. Arizona governor Jan Brewer has, as reported here on the Inquisitr, single-handedly blocked a gay marriage bill and even received flak for the maneuver from her colleagues in the GOP.
Whatever the politics are though, this Arizona OL has fearlessly let the world know he’s gay. The future neurologist is developing a carbon fiber football helmet, according to Larry Brown Sports.
