Sun Devils Sarafin Comes Out: Just How Big A Deal Is This Now...???

((HT: AZCentral.com/Haller))

Chip Sarafin has been a part of the Arizona State football program for the last four seasons as a non-scholarship offensive lineman. And in an article released today in Tempe, Arizona-based Compete magazine Sarafin told writer Joshua Wyrick that he is gay.

Serafin told Wyrick that he started telling his teammates that he's gay back in the spring. The news became public with the release of the magazine on Wednesday.

According to the article, there has been no issue with Sarafin and is Sun Devil teammates since his announcement and it is thought that he is the first-ever Division I football player to announce he is gay during his activity on campus.

Here's the first look from Dan Bickley:
((HT: KPNX-TV))
ASU head coach Todd Graham released a statement: "We are a brotherhood that is not defined by cultural and personal differences, but rather an individual's commitment to the Sun Devil Way. Chip is a fifth-year senior and a Scholar Baller, a graduate and a master's student. His commitment to service is unmatched and it is clear he is on his way to leading a successful life after his playing career, a goal that I have for every student-athlete. Diversity and acceptance are two of the pillars of our program, and he has full support from his teammates and the coaching staff." Vice President for Athletics Ray Anderson said Sarafin has ASU's support: "The entire athletics department is extremely proud of Chip and is unequivocally supportive of him. His undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering, his pursuit of a master's in the same field, his research involving football-related concussions, and his heavy involvement in the community with both youth sports in Arizona and the Tillman Scholars embodies all the characteristics that set our student-athletes apart and allows our university to maintain an environment of inclusiveness and progression."
And the larger question is: Is this THAT big a deal in its progressive behavior...???

The HQ lauds Sarafin and the stance of ASU at present and we hope it continues...

Donald Sterling Surely Will Be Talking About Rich DeVos (Or First)

((HT: MLive.com))

The HQ is working two tracks here

In addition to the James Rainey piece in the Times about the high bidder that may or may not get the team, reports are that the NBA will hold off on their vote to get rid of Clippers owner Donald Sterling as boss if the Sterlings can agree on the sale and the sale price.

And that's the rub in all of this...

Donald Sterling is looking to make sure that he goes down swinging- at least at this hour.

He was still planning on a lawsuit against the NBA and wants to vet the other NBA owners who he and his attorneys feel have said worse things publicly than he did in private.

The big hook seems to be Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos an his comments about the gay community. In a 2009 interview with the Grand Rapids Press, reporter Chris Knape talked to DeVos around the 50th anniversary of DeVos' Amway Corporation.
Sterling notes DeVos in his missive to the NBA earlier this week that DeVos "has made highly controversial comments against individuals with HIV/AIDS and generously supports anti-homosexual causes with impugnity (sic)." Shandra Martinez over at MLive talks about the interview in depth hyah.

Michael Sam Drafted After All By St. Louis

((HT: Fox 2 St. Louis))

Here's the phone call that made history on a lot of different levels...


The skinny on Sam was that he would go anywhere from the third to fifth round. He went into the seventh...

Which was fine... Sam, admittedly a tweener size-wise for defensive linemen and linebackers, could be an effective speed rusher for a defense that is already getting pretty stout.

It was a bit of a home town selection- which was also fine.

Here's the home town coverage from KSDK

Sam is ready to go for the Rams and the Rams seem ready to accept him and will look at him for his athletic abilities and finding a place for the SEC Defensive Player of The Year on their roster...

Mizzou DE Sam Says He Is Gay, Patrick Crayton Not A Fan...

((HT: ESPN))

Michael Sam could be drafted this year for a team that needs some help up front...

Teammates have known since the beginning of the regular season that he is gay, but he is now telling Chris Connelly the same and he is now the first openly gay pro prospect...

Here's a piece of his interview...


Sam led the SEC with 11-and-a-half sacks, and 19 tackles for loss. Most NFL draft projections see him as a Day Two selection, with some saying Sam could go as high as the third round. He may have to change from DE to a linebacker because of his college size...

Here's instant analysis


It will be interesting to see if Sam can:

A) Stick to a roster and,
B) Not be subjected to the stereotypical locker room culture that the HQ knows exists- on every level...

Will we all be adults...???

What the HQ feels and what may actually happen are two different things...

UPDATE: The Cowboys Patrick Crayton is the first over the bar...

In a series of Tweets, the receiver showed his true colors- until he says his account was hacked or the comments get removed...

Missouri DE Michael Sam, a projected mid-round pick, said today he's gay. Story now on ESPN2." To urself!!!
Missouri DE Michael Sam, a projected mid-round pick, said today he's gay. Story now on ESPN2." Stay in the closet and keep
Missouri DE Michael Sam, a projected mid-round pick, said today he's gay. Story now on ESPN2." trying to figure why annonce
Missouri DE Michael Sam, a projected mid-round pick, said today he's gay. Story now on ESPN2." Oh wow!!! There goes the NFL!

He proceeded to get in a Twitter battle with Johnny Knoxville of all people...

Heterosexuals aren't walking around saying I'm straight!!!

Stay classy...

The Games Have Always Been A Little Gay...

((HT: CIDI))

That's the tag line for the video below that tackles the Russian government's stance on gay athletes...

Um...

Head on...

The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion did it... and they should be commended...


“I think it’s important that people realize that outside of Russia there are 70-plus countries where being LGBT is illegal, punishable from anywhere from a couple of years in jail to a death sentence," according to CIDI CEO Michael Bach...

So be it in its brilliance...

Sochi Mayor Says No Gays In His Town... Really...

((HT: BBC News))

Either Anatoly Pakhomov is blind or just not smart...

He is under the impression that there are no gay people in his town as the winter five-ringed circus approaches in a few week's time...

Evidence below...


Russian president Vladmir Putin passed a law banning propaganda of "nontraditional sexual relations" for the period when the world is coming to his country.

The HQ doesn't see this going over well at all...

Ole Miss: No Evidence Players Used Gay Slurs At On-Campus Play...

((HT: ESPN/Aschoff, Daily Mississippian))

And the HQ's reaction is: "Of course, they didn't..."

To recap...

There's a course at Ole Miss, much like Theatre 3000 that we took during our undergrad years, where part of your assignment is to go watch plays- and either write synopses (or "summaries..." for some of you) or answer test questions on what you see... It was an easy "A" course if you paid attention...

Ole Miss football players went to see a play called "The Laramie Project"- based on the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.

Here's the movie based on the play...


The Daily Mississippian, the university's student newspaper, reported that as many 20 Ole Miss football players were among an audience Tuesday. Play director and faculty member Rory Ledbetter told the newspaper that members of the audience were using homosexual slurs while the performance was going on and insulting the body types and sexual orientation of cast members. The behavior of those who disrupted the play made it difficult to even complete the performance.

The full report from the Daily is disturbing, but in today's age, not totally surprising... as, when the players went backstage afterwards, the apology caused two cast members to cry.

Adam Ganucheau interviewed one of the cast members:

“I am the only gay person on the cast,” junior theater major Garrison Gibbons said. “I played a gay character in the show, and to be ridiculed like that was something that really made me realize that some people at Ole Miss and in Mississippi still can’t accept me for who I am.”

On Thursday, the University apologized:

...we will meet today with the freshman student-athletes (from various sports) who attended the play and have a dialogue about what happened, about our university-wide commitment to inclusivity and civility, and about the important role they play in representing the university. It is clear that some students badly misrepresented the culture of this university. From there, we will work with Student Affairs and the Bias Incident Response Team to determine the facts and appropriate next steps.

The student newspaper also reported that Ledbetter said a member of the athletic department sent him an email apologizing for the incident.

Ole Miss theater department chairwoman Rene Pulliam told the paper that the football players were asked to apologize by the athletic department as well- yet, apparently, they didn't know what they were apologizing for- according to reports...

From the University:

The task of identifying specific individuals who were purported to have disrupted the performance is difficult because of the dark theatre, and initial reports vary in regard to the frequency, volume and source of the comments or disruption. Although initial reports indicate that student-athletes led the action, it is important to note that this has not been verified and they were not the only students present. Reports indicate that comments were made by student athletes and students but no report has singled out a specific student or mentioned any names.

So much for Creed Week, eh boys...???

Jason Collins Says In SI That He's Gay...

((HT: Sports Illustrated/Wertheim et al.))

Jason Collins only came out to his twin brother a year ago...

He's a free agent in the NBA and would like to keep playing the sport...
But this is how he started his first person account in the magazine for this week's cover story...

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already and done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

It will be interesting to see if people look at him differently, if the NBA looks at him differently, or if they're just going to be franchises looking at a serviceable, back-up big.

Collins wants to start a family and he determined that, after the Boston Marathon bombings, that he shouldn't wait any longer to have the "right time" to tell everyone around that he's gay.

More from his account:

I go against the gay stereotype, which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: That guy is gay? But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school. Am I so physical to prove that being gay doesn't make you soft? Who knows? That's something for a psychologist to unravel. My motivations, like my contributions, don't show up in box scores, and frankly I don't care about stats. Winning is what counts. I want to be evaluated as a team player.

Loyalty to my team is the real reason I didn't come out sooner.

Now, let's see if those around him, regardless of the size of the circle will do in kind...

Here's some of what the next NBA team will be getting if they take hold of Collins...
((HT: NBAE))