A major Division 1 football program has played an openly gay player and lived to tell about it.
Offensive tackle Scott Frantz started at left tackle for the Kansas State Wildcats on Sunday, and the team rolled. With the Wildcats’ 55-19 thrashing of the Univ. of Central Arkansas, the Big XII school showed it can play and support an out gay athlete in a “Red State” and thrive doing so.
Kansas State rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s season opener, an impressive start. Though Central Arkansas is an FCS school, a big win is a big win.
During the game, Frantz became the first publicly out gay college football player to play in a game for an FBS school. My-King Johnson is redshirting this year for the Univ. of Arizona, as previously expected. Xavier Colvin and Mason Darrow, who also have played in the NCAA Division 1, have played for FCS schools — Butler and Princeton, respectively.
It’s another statement about the true heart of football. While people continue to try to claim that football is a “homophobic sport,” people like Frantz and the players, coaches and fans of Kansas State demonstrate that the sport of football has become an overwhelmingly LGBT-supportive space, and that gay athletes can play openly and be their true selves.
Kansas State next takes on the UNC-Charlotte, which should be another display of total domination by the Wildcats.
