Princeton offensive lineman Mason
Darrow on Tuesday publicly announced he's gay, making him the
program's first openly gay player.
Darrow discussed coming out to his
teammates and coaches in an
Outsports.com story.
“People will surprise you,” Darrow
said. “I was definitely concerned that people, teammates, would
react poorly. I think in this day and age people really just don't
care about it. It's really not a big deal anymore.”
Darrow is currently the only openly gay
player in major college football.
Michael Sam announced he's gay after
leaving the University of Missouri, while Arizona State offensive
lineman Chip Sarafin was open about his sexuality during his final
season with the Sun Devils.
Darrow said that he “felt trapped”
but hesitated coming out because he thought “there would be a lot
of animosity.”
“There are a lot of guys from the
South on the team. I wasn't sure how people would react to it,” he
said.
If coming out “is going to help some
sophomore in Arizona come out to his teammates and be comfortable in
himself, that's the reason I'm doing it,” he added.
“I think if you ask anybody on the
team, they'll tell you he's a terrific teammate,” Tigers football
coach Bob Surface said of Darrow.